Highlands Elementary School adds new inclusive playground equipment; working to add the rest
APPLETON - Another inclusive playground has been added to the growing list in the Fox Cities.
Highlands Elementary School, 2037 N. Elinor St., held a ribbon-cutting ceremony Monday to reveal inclusive additions to its playgrounds, like sensory panels and a new playground structure with wheelchair-accessible ramps.
"The sheer joy from our students who this project impacted most was oozing everywhere," said Highlands principal Kari Krueger.
The project, which is over a year in the making, started with an idea from last year's fifth- and sixth-graders, Krueger said.
Last year's fun run raised many times its usual amount for new playground features — and the school hopes to do it again
Highlands Elementary School, which also houses Odyssey/Magellan Magnet School, has a fun run every spring to raise money, Krueger said. The fifth- and sixth-graders choose the fundraising goal for the fun run; typically the fundraiser has a goal below $10,000 for things like spider climbers or new technology.
But last school year, Highlands students noticed some of their classmates couldn't play alongside them. At the time, Krueger said, students in wheelchairs and walkers and with mobility limitations had trouble getting to the school playground through the wood chips and stairs.
Krueger said the students asked how they could improve the school playground so all their classmates could play with them. The kids specifically noted that "there was only one accessible swing, but thirty for everyone else."
But the price tag for new inclusive playground equipment came to $120,000.
The school decided to work on the project in two phases of about $60,000 each. To meet the first goal, Krueger said, they "had to get really creative" with fundraising: collecting pledges, selling concessions, making posters and slideshows.
Their efforts paid off. Last year, the school raised over $65,000 during its campaign, which included a $10,000 donation from a student's great-uncle, John Schuessler.
This year's fun run will be called the "Joy of John Fun Run" in Schuessler's honor. "He's a true winner because he got to see the joy in all the kids' faces," Krueger added.
The school hopes to raise another $50,000 this year, which will add poured-in-place rubber surfacing and a Viper accessible slide to one of the new playground structures. Krueger is optimistic about meeting that goal, saying, "There's passion in the community if we can ignite the right fire."
How can I help the Highlands playground project?
The Fun Run is set for May 16 at the school; events begin at 4 p.m. The run, itself, begins at 5. Highlands is posting ways to participate in this year's fundraising campaign at sites.google.com/view/joy-of-john-fun-run. You can also donate to the campaign via a GoFundMe for the campaign or through a check to AASD with the memo line "HIG Playground."
Rebecca Loroff is a K-12 education reporter for the USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin. She welcomes story tips and feedback. Contact her at 920-907-7801 or rloroff@gannett.com. Follow her on X (formerly Twitter) at @RebeccaLoroff.
This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Highlands adds inclusive playground; raising money for more additions
