TOLONO, Ill. (WCIA) — Students in Tolono are gearing up for the start of the 2024-2025 school year, and it’ll include a new playground to use at recess.
It’s been about three years in the making, ever since students at Unity West wrote a letter to their principal asking for a more inclusive playground so all classmates could join in on the fun.
In 2021, first graders saw a problem and wanted to be part of the solution. As they prepare for fourth grade, their idea has come to life behind their elementary school.
“Some of the different pieces we’ve put in here are specifically designed for our students with special needs,” Lanee Reichert, the principal, explained.
For example, a wheelchair can be rolled onto the merry-go-round, there’s a communication board for students with special devices that can’t always be brought outside, and there is a spot for students to learn sign language and use braille.
The crowd favorite is called the “cruiser.” It’s a piece of equipment a wheelchair can roll onto, and students can rock it back and forth while sitting on either side.
It didn’t come together overnight and took help from everyone in the community. The parent-teacher organization (PTO), school board, and teachers from various departments collaborated to make it happen. But, students chipped in along the way as well.
“To get my black belt, I have to do a service project,” Killian Huff, a fourth grader, explained. “I chose to sell t-shirts.”
From those sales, he raised about $200, all going toward the space.
It’s already a big hit, and when students first ran around on it at the beginning of August, they just couldn’t all agree on one favorite part. There was a lot to choose from.
Plus, with school starting next week, the timing couldn’t have been better.
“I’m no longer going to see kids sitting on the side who can’t participate so that’s really exciting,” Reichert said.
Knowing her students were the catalysts behind this change is an extra special feeling.
“It’s great to see them and that maturity that they have to recognize it’s important to include all people,” she said. “That’s what we’re in education for!”
About 15 minutes away at Unity East in Philo, students also wrote a letter for a more inclusive playground. The construction there recently wrapped up as well.
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