Main Street School to build new playground this summer
By Ashley M. Casey
Associate Editor
The novel coronavirus pandemic has shuttered schools, businesses and playgrounds across the world, but the North Syracuse Early Education Program is looking ahead to brighter days. The inclusive preschool — also known as the Main Street School — is planning to break ground on a new playground in August.
“Our playground is falling down,” said Cheri Rotelli, a physical therapist at NSEEP and playground project coordinator.
The current playground is 29 years old, Rotelli said, and is not easily accessible for people with mobility issues. Main Street School’s playground does not meet the standards of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
“We talk about a playground and you think it’s just children, but it’s their parents and caregivers,” Rotelli said. “We’ve had parents with disabilities who can’t take their kids to playgrounds because they aren’t accessible.”
That is a problem for a preschool that focuses on providing services for disabled students.
“It’s time to think about making the playground accessible to all kinds of movers,” Rotelli said. “In our program we service children who have a lot of other needs: children who have delayed communication, visual dysregulation, or sensory issues.”
Often, these students will seek sensory experiences by jumping from heights or other harmful behaviors, so safe playground equipment gives them the sensory input they require through spinning, swaying, swinging and bouncing. Rotelli said this leads to more fun on the playground and fewer dangerous incidents.
With a total price tag of $280,157.70, the new playground will feature wide wheelchair-accessible ramps, smooth surfaces and a variety of play fixtures for kids of all abilities. Among the features are textured boards for tactile stimulation and a communications board with pictures for nonverbal students to point at to convey their needs.
Rotelli said she visited an accessible playground at ARISE at the Farm in Chittenango for inspiration. When she saw the faces of the kids playing there, she knew NSEEP needed the same type of playground.
The North Syracuse Central School District has contributed some of the funding for the project and has pledged to remove the existing playground and prepare the surface for construction.
“I was really happily surprised,” Rotelli said of the district’s assistance. “It’s not like we’re a wealthy district. It’s been wonderful.”
While Rotelli and NSEEP are grateful for the NSCSD’s help, the community will need to pitch in as well to make the new playground a reality.
Donate to the Main Street School’s playground project by visiting fnseep.org or sending a check to Friends of NSEEP, 210 S. Main St., North Syracuse, NY 13212. For more information, contact Cheri Rotelli at [email protected].
“We will go out to play someday, and when we do hopefully we can build a new playground to do it in,” Rotelli said.
