Ponderosa Elementary School Leaves No Child Behind
Sasha Bush
The Greater Ashland Beacon
For many years, Ponderosa Elementary School has always been on the cutting edge of things whether it’s from their integrated use of technology within the classroom to the unique and personalized approach every teacher takes to ensure that every student at Ponderosa Elementary experiences the highest quality of learning. No student is left behind.
Recently the students, staff, teachers, and administration began a new fundraising campaign to help fund a new playground. The school’s current playground is over 15 years old. Due to its age, it simply wasn’t designed to fit the needs of all students on an inclusive level. Brian Eerenberg, principal at Ponderosa Elementary School, is really excited to get this playground project started. Eerenberg shared, “We have an older playground, and we would like to offer a more inclusive playground for our students and community to enjoy. The students will not only get a new playground facility to enjoy and share with the community, but they will see the effects of inclusive play on their peers. They will also learn about goal setting, fundraising, and what it takes to make long term goals become reality. The students have been involved in the planning phase and will continue to be involved in all aspects of the playground development.”
“Our current playground is not designed for inclusive play, even though there is a sidewalk and an installed swing for our students in wheelchairs to use. The playground as it is does not afford much opportunity for our students in wheelchairs to play along with their peers. It is also becoming difficult to get replacement parts when things break. It is more than fifteen years old, which is the typical span for playground equipment,” added Eerenberg.
While the startup of this project has been a group effort, one particular student, Allie Hanshaw, a second-grade student at Ponderosa Elementary, has “truly influenced the creation of this playground,” stated Heather Moore, Counselor at Ponderosa Elementary School. Hanshaw being in a wheelchair herself realized the need for a new playground that would benefit all students at Ponderosa Elementary. Eerenberg stated, “The idea for an inclusive playground was brought to our attention last school year. We had several students who required the use of wheelchairs, and we realized that recess time looked different for them than the rest of our students. While they did have the opportunity to play and be around their peers, they could not take advantage of the full playground as it is now.”
The new playground will feature two accessible swings as well as seven regular swings, several spinner seats, an inclusive merry-go-round, a zip line, and a large play structure that allows for accessibility for all students. There will be a total of six slides on the large play structure and a small climbing wall. The entire surface of the playground will have soft, poured rubber throughout to allow for safe and easy use for all age and ability levels.
To make this playground project a reality, the school will need to raise a total of $397,303. “To kick off our efforts, we began by writing a grant through Marathon this fall. We were then awarded a very generous donation of $8400 through this grant. The school district will also help with some of the funds. So far, we have raised a total of $9100 toward our goal thanks to these very generous donations.” shared Eerenberg.
Everyone at Ponderosa Elementary School is eager to see the completion of this new and exciting project. “We have set a tentative goal at the end of next school year, and we hope to have all fundraising completed by then. While we realize this may be a multi-year effort, we would love to have this project completed as soon as possible. Lead times on ordering the equipment are long, so the earlier we can get the funds raised, the less time it will take to get those ordered and ready for installation for our students,” noted Moore.
Anyone who would like to help make this project become a reality for the students and staff at Ponderosa can do so by contacting Principal Eerenberg at the school. Eerenberg shared, “It means a great deal to our students and staff that we can have an area where all kids can play together and learn appropriate social interactions in a safe and fun environment. It also means a great deal for our students who are helping and those who are witnessing the effort that we are putting into this project for the benefit of our school and community. Thank you to everyone who has helped thus far to make this idea a reality.”
