New accessible playground opens at Talawanda Middle

A new accessible playground was completed at Talawanda Middle School (TMS) on Sept. 11 and is now open to both students and the public. 

Intervention specialist at TMS, Erin Fitzgerald, said the school formerly had one adaptive swing on the grounds, but saw a “bubble” of students with complex needs being enrolled who would all have to share. Sharing the equipment became frustrating for students with limited verbal skills and other needs, leading to negative behaviors, she said.

Three years ago, she decided to push for a larger, more accessible playground for the students and earned two $70,000 grants – one from an anonymous donor through the Hamilton Community Foundation and the other from the Greater Oxford Community Foundation – along with a few other smaller donations. A request for qualifications was sent out by the district, and Recreation inSites was chosen to complete the job.

This year, Fitzgerald said TMS is still seeing an increase in students with complex needs being enrolled, as well as students with sensory needs who may benefit from swinging, spinning and releasing energy during the day.

“For my students, (the playground) is a place to be with their peers at kind of a level playing field,” Fitzgerald said. “My students do have complex needs, so (they’re) in wheelchairs, (they’re) limited verbal(ly) or using communication devices, and they can kind of be out there with same-age peers playing and having fun, as well as getting those sensory needs (met).”

Although TMS doesn’t have a full recess like elementary students do, she said she takes her students out of class for a moment during the day to get fresh air and take a break so they can return feeling “refreshed.”

The playground sits on a rubber flooring, instead of mulch or turf, which can easily be crossed by a wheelchair. It also includes a wheelchair-accessible carousel, two adaptive swings, a netted swing for students who may not have as much core strength, curved benches and several pieces of musical equipment that are lower to the ground.

Director of District Facilities Bill Hubbard said Talawanda formed a playground committee around five to six years ago to work on extensive upgrades to playgrounds at its other schools. A goal of the committee, he said, was to ensure inclusivity at the district’s playgrounds moving forward, including by replacing standard mulch-lined playgrounds with rubber surfacing in future upgrades.

About three years ago, playgrounds at Marshall, Kramer and Bogan elementaries were all updated with the new flooring using Elementary and Secondary School Relief funds.

Fitzgerald said it was equally important to her that the new playground at TMS not have a fence so it would be seen as open to all students, as well as the community.

TMS Principal Jason Merz said students having access to playgrounds gives them space to interact with other students and learn conflict resolution. Merz, who was previously principal of Kramer Elementary School, said his students used to participate in an “unplug and play” event.

“This (playground) gives them an opportunity to get outside, give them a chance to play and interact with one another, and they're looking face to face and having conversations instead of staring at screens,” Merz said, adding the TMS grounds are also used by the Talawanda Bantam Football Association after hours.

“You have kids here in the evening, and the little siblings are here. It gives them a place to come and play and do something while they're here, too,” Merz said. “Just having that accessibility and utilizing the things that we have in the district is great for all.”