Next week, children, parents and teachers of Sudduth Elementary School will be seeing stars.
For the past week, students have been decorating tiles with stars in preparation for a bigger project — the new universal playground, which will be built at Sudduth Elementary School this fall.
At the Kids Fair at Sudduth this weekend, parents will have the opportunity to purchase their child’s tile for $25. It will then be hung on the wall beside the cafeteria in the school. All proceeds from the sale of the stars will go toward the new playground for children with special needs.
The process was started last year by special education teacher Brooke Kiel, who noticed a lack of equipment that was easily accessible to her students.
“I had a student in my class who was not able to use the playground equipment at all,” Kiel said. “Most people don’t think of something as simple as the height of the steps on a slide or even the wood chips being used on the playground presenting a challenge. But for kids with physical disabilities or sensory disorders, these things can be tough to deal with.”
Kiel received a grant through the GoPlay organization, a nonprofit group formed in 2009 to encourage creating learning opportunities outside of the classroom in the Starkville School District.
While Kiel was thankful for the grant, it wasn’t quite enough to attain the goal she had in mind. In stepped GoPlay President Heather Carson, who also saw the need for special equipment at Sudduth and was looking for a way to continue the GoPlay initiative.
Carson and GoPlay had recently completed projects at Henderson Ward Stewart Elementary School and are working on joint-use agreements, which have opened up school playgrounds for public use after school hours.
The new playground will feature specialized pieces — such as a sensory panel wall with a rain stick and a fun house mirror — to introduce new sensory experiences. The playground also will include a merry-go-round with higher backs to prevent children from falling out and a roller top table with handles that will allow children with upper body mobility to pull themselves and practice their movement.
“It’s going to give these students a place and a chance to play on their own and interact with their peers on their own, like we were able to do when we were kids,” Kiel said. “Right now, if the kids want to play on the existing equipment, they have to have the teachers right there beside them to help with everything. What kid wants the teacher beside him every second at recess? This new playground will help the kids gain independence and life skills that can only be learned by interacting on one’s own with his peers.
“Right now, we have over 100 kids with disabilities at Sudduth, and that number isn’t going anywhere,” added Carson. “We’re hopeful that we’ll reach our fundraising goal of $60,000 dollars and begin building by the fall. However, we are realists and know that these things take time. We simply can’t do it without the help of donors and volunteers. It’s a purely collaborative effort.”
If funds are available, GoPlay will start the new playground in the fall, relying heavily on community volunteers.
“I’m really excited about the way the whole community has come together,” Kiel said, “but I’m mostly excited for the kids. Right now, they really don’t know about all the efforts going forth for this project. They’re more concerned with what’s going to happen in the next hour, but I can’t wait to see them when they first see the new playground. Their little faces are going to absolutely light up.”
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 41 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
