MADISON TOWNSHIP — Amy O’Connell saw the Madison Middle School playground and knew something needed to change.
O’Connell is a teacher in the cross-categorical special needs classroom at Madison High School. Once a week, she and her students walk down to the middle school for time on playground.
That’s when she noticed the playground didn’t have equipment for students in wheelchairs.
“We have nothing for these kids to do, so they’re sitting in wheelchairs watching everyone play,” O’Connell said.
That’s going to change this spring, thanks to a $5,000 grant from ServeOhio, the state’s commission on service and volunteerism.
O’Connell applied for the grant to complete a service learning project with her high school students. Over the course of the school year, students have researched, gathered data, crunched numbers and collaborated with other students, staff and community members in an effort to make the playground a place where everyone can have fun.
It all started a lesson in empathy.
O’Connell took her class down to the playground again. This time, she instructed her students to sit and watch while she and intervention specialist Shelbi Ohl played alone for the first few minutes.
Later, she asked the students how that made them feel and explained that students in wheelchairs likely feel the same way.
“Then I said, ‘Well, how can we fix this? How can we make this better?'” O’Connell said.
“Our whole motto in our class is to be kind. They have lots of procedures, but that’s their only rule … It’s not kind to play and have children not be able to play and join in.”
Class partnered with career tech students to plan playground improvements
Students surveyed their peers in the middle school cross categorical class, asking them about their satisfaction with the existing playground and any improvements they’d like to see.
Then they tallied the results and charted them on a bar graph. They researched playground equipment, ultimately deciding that an accessible swing and musical chimes would be the best fit.
After that, O’Connell’s class teamed up students from the career tech building trades program to draw blueprints.
“I always enjoy opportunities to relate what I teach my students to real-world situations,” instructor Josh Boliantz said.
“This was a perfect opportunity to show them the benefits of understanding blueprints and how to draw and read them.”
Each of Boliantz’s students was paired with one or two of O’Connell’s students. Together, they visited the playground and drew blueprints that incorporated the new equipment.
“They got to assist each student to their level, so that way they can be as much of a participant on their end as possible,” Boliantz said.
All of the student designs were submitted to the district’s maintenance department, which will install the chimes this spring. The new swing will be added to the existing swing set.
The class also launched a DonorsChoose campaign and raised funds to purchase soft Frisbees, foam balls, a net, bubbles and Velcro catch-and-throw sets.
Mia Orth, a sophomore in the building trades program, said she enjoyed using the skills she’d acquired in class to help someone else.
“We helped (Mrs. O’Connell’s students) graph out where they thought (the new equipment) would best fit in the playground,” she said.
“I honestly loved it. The kids were so sweet. I loved everything about them. The girl I worked with was very kind and very fun to talk to.”