Playground Project
Generic Grant Application
April 2002

Outline of Project:

The Verona Core Knowledge Charter School (VCKCS) is a part of the Verona Area School District (VASD). VCKCS presently has 240 children. We have children in grades K-8. Primarily due to space constraints, the VCKCS was moved from the Fitchburg elementary school campus to the Verona Badger Ridge Middle School.

Although we are delighted to have all of our grades under one roof, we have had some challenges. The Badger Ridge Middle School had to be redesigned to accommodate elementary children. One very obvious area of concern for the children of the VCKCS is the playground. The VCKCS received very limited playground equipment.

The VASD has made it clear that because of multiple needs and a tight budget, it is their expectation that parent organizations will fund improvements to the playgrounds. The Parent Round Table (PRT) of VCKCS has a playground committee to raise funds to enhance the VCKCS playground. The VASD has been very supportive of helping the PRT’s planning and management of the playground project. The VASD will maintain and help install the planned playground changes (please see attached support letter from the Superintendent of VASD).

Current Conditions:

Current conditions are unacceptable based on the following:

• VCKCS has the lowest number of structures per student in the VASD. Current structures are over-utilized, increasing the probability of a safety incident.
• Over-utilization can promote, among the students, negative competition and frustration for scarce resources, rather that cooperation and enterprise.
• Students with physical challenges are doubly penalized since they need to navigate ‘unfriendly’ structures and also deal with overcrowding.

Improvement Plan Outline:

The playground committee started to understand the playground issues by:

• Comparing other playgrounds with what we had installed,
• Better understanding the federal and ADA guidelines for safer and respectful playgrounds,
• Time studying our usage and comparing to other schools, and
• Surveying teachers, teacher aids, and students.

The playground committee compiled the results. With guidance from the district, the playground committee worked with several playground structures companies to find the best fit for our needs and, which seems to be most important, fall within our budget. The playground committee consulted with the VASD OT’s and PT’s as to the needs of students with special physical challenges.

Enhancement Outline:

The general idea is to divide the play areas into a K-2 area and a 3-5 area. The children survey strongly asked for more swings. We presently have 4 swings for 240 children. Also, the students and teachers asked for quiet areas for reading and thinking time.

The present play structure addresses the K-2 needs. This includes the following:

• A cargo net,
• Climbing tower,
• 1 set of monkey bars,
• 1 set of parallel bars,
• A pole-slide,
• 1 set of rings,
• 2 slides,
• 2 ladder climbers, and
• 4 regular swings.

The surface is wood chips for the play area. The main reason this is age-appropriate for K-2 children is the low height at which it is currently installed.

The PROPOSED playground enhancements are as follows (please refer to attached proposal):

• An age-appropriate play area for kids in grades 3-5. It includes:

• 2 slides, double swoosh and a sldewinder2;

• Climbers: cliff climber, summit climbers, and spider web climbers;
• Ladders: trapeze horizontal ladder and vertical ladder;
• Slide pole;
• Clatter-bridge; and the connecting steps to complete the new play structure; and
• A group of new swings;
• Quiet areas that include: 2 benches; and 1 picnic table.

For children with special needs the PROPOSAL includes:

• Elevated sand play area with accessible ramps;
• Panels for discovery including wheels, also with accessible ramps;
• 1 of the new swings is designed with molded bucket seats, especially engineered for children with special needs.

Timeline:

The present timeline is based solely on fundraising. If we meet our fundraising goal we plan to order the new equipment in late spring, prepare site (VASD) early summer, and community-build playground in summer.

Funding:

The enhancement plan costs approximately $28,000. Of this the PRT has $3,000.00. Although this seems like a small amount this money is solely from bake sales, book fairs, and small fundraisers. The VCKCS Playground Committee fundraising plan kicks off in March. The Committee has responded to several corporate grants, the largest being a Hasbro grant recommended to the PRT by Dr. Conzemius, Superintendent of VASD. Other fundraising options are being considered. A direct mail campaign to parents and a generic grant proposal will be mailed to each family.

The cost of $28,000 is for the playground materials only. To save significant funds the PRT is organizing a Community Build project. This will include volunteers to actually build the structures with the guidance of the playground company. It will be first a short prep site day with a smaller number of volunteers; then a whole day of 20-30 volunteers to construct the play area. Again, the VASD will be a big player in helping prep holes, landscape, add and move dirt and maintain the area.

Other Benefits to the Community:

Other than the direct benefits to the children of the VCKCS, the newly-enhanced playground will be apark for the community in a growing and busy area of Verona. The VCKCS has plans to include local businesses and services groups to help with the project.

Specifically:

We are asking our corporate partners to show their leadership with donations to help this gain momentum.

Attachments: