After receiving the majority of the necessary funds, Slate Creek Elementary announced to its students the plans to build a larger inclusive playground than originally expected. Slate Creek Elementary works with a number of students with disabilities throughout the county with the Harvey County Special Education Cooperative. Many of these students use wheelchairs and other mobility aids and communication devices. The current playground isn’t equipped to accommodate them. Tenae Alfaro, Slate Creek Elementary’s principal, gave an update to the students, announcing the plans for the playground. Students were selected to press a button and show the increases in funding the school had made over time. Alfaro said she was proud of the students for their commitment to the cause and was confident they could reach their final goal. The playground will have a surface that wheelchairs can use. The current playground has an inaccessible sand ground. The playground will also have a communication panel for students who use communication devices. In 2021, students at Slate Creek began fundraising for an inclusive playground and raised an initial $20,000. Fundraising efforts continued throughout the community with an original goal of $450,000 for a smaller playground. In November, the organization handling fundraising, All Together Now, tripled donations they received with the help of the Newton Community Foundation and the Asbury Park Community Foundation. Fundraising surpassed that number significantly, and the school has raised $600,000. They now plan to build a larger playground, which is already 85 percent funded and will cost $710,000 total.
Source: Harvey County Now
