BRISTOL — A new inclusive playground at Bristol Elementary School is designed to offer opportunities for all children and their families to play.

The playground features a solid surface navigable for wheelchairs and strollers and play equipment accessible to kids of all ages and abilities.

“Playing on a playground is an essential part of childhood, and each child deserves the opportunity to play with others,” said Beth McGeorge, director of student support services for the Mount Abraham Unified School District. “The new playground at Bristol Elementary School is designed to encourage broad participation and social interaction by welcoming and engaging everyone while promoting growth and joy.”

McGeorge said the hope is for the playground to serve as a gathering space for youth and families in Bristol and beyond.

The new playground has been in the works for several years.

Former MAUSD Director of Student Support Services Susan Bruhl applied for and received American Rescue Plan Act funds for the Individual with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) grant supporting the effort during the 2021-2022 school year. A team of educators then collaborated to design and identify equipment and space to support the cognitive, motor, academic, social, emotional, and sensory needs of students with disabilities, McGeorge said.

STUDENTS AT BRISTOL Elementary School got to try out a new play structure upon returning to school this fall. The inclusive playground features a solid surface navigable for wheelchairs and strollers and play equipment accessible to all kids.
Independent photo/Steve James

McGeorge joined the effort upon stepping into her current role in July of 2022. She worked with playground supplier Pettinelli & Associates, which set up the playground this past summer.

The new playground was created as an addition to the school’s existing play structure and is accessible from the school and parking lot.

“One of our top priorities in selecting the playground’s location was ensuring its accessibility from the school and parking lot. We understood the importance of this and took it into careful consideration,” McGeorge said.

While aspects of the new playground align with ADA regulations — wide routes, flush transitions and a solid surface manageable for strollers and wheelchairs to enter and navigate — the structure is designed to go beyond providing an accessible place to play.

“With inclusion it’s more of a philosophy of having all students access a playground where there’s no barriers to play given their abilities and also having others join in that play,” McGeorge explained. “It’s inclusive to all. It’s not a playground for a specific population, it’s a playground for all.”

The goal is for all kids to have the opportunity to play regardless of their abilities.

“It doesn’t always have to be a disability; you’ve got kids that have a moment in time where they’re using crutches, a hidden disability, autism where there’s sensory overload. Oftentimes disabilities aren’t seen either,” she said.

The new inclusive playground at Bristol Elementary School has already gotten a lot of use from students this school year. Here, a pair of students check out one of the structure’s many accessible features.
Independent photo/Steve James

PLAYGROUND FEATURES

The playground is designed so that all users can enjoy free, unstructured play. For example, the playground sits on a no-fault, poured-in-place rubber mat.

“(The rubber mat) is soft and cushiony and stable for kids, so kids in wheelchairs or strollers or crutches, they can pretty much be independent. They’re not hitting barriers when they go from structure to structure,” McGeorge said.

The playground includes climbing structures and tunnels, a sand and water panel, as well as other sensory, music and fine motor areas. The space also features a wheelchair-accessible glider.

“Kids can go right on it, and it gives them that vestibular motion like they’re in a swing,” McGeorge said of the glider.

Some of the most popular parts of the playground thus far have been a xylophone panel and an “inclusive whirl,” a spinner that’s built level with the ground and has space for multiple kids and wheelchairs.

“The feedback that I’ve gotten is that it goes really fast and is super fun,” McGeorge said.

She noted that school officials have heard a lot of positive feedback on the new structure.

“We’ve gotten some amazing feedback from students, preK-6, that it’s fun, it’s different. Kids are loving it,” McGeorge said.

McGeorge pointed to several benefits of the inclusive and accessible playground, such as encouraging acceptance and empathy and creating a stimulating play environment.

“An accessible playground enables kids with different abilities to enjoy a wide variety of exciting, inclusive play activities and engage with equipment that challenges their physical abilities and promotes healthy risks; children feel invigorated,” she said. “An inclusive playground boosts kids’ self-esteem and by building up their self-esteem, they learn new skills and make friends.”

The plan is to further add to the space with the addition of a nearby pavilion, situated on a concrete slab attached to the playground’s rubber mat. The concrete slab is completed, and the pavilion is expected to arrive soon.

A GROUP OF students takes a ride on a wheelchair-accessible glider, one of several features of the new inclusive playground at Bristol Elementary School.
Independent photo/Steve James

“We didn’t want just to build a playground; we wanted to create a gathering place representing our community,” McGeorge said. “The pavilion will be used for various purposes: as an outdoor classroom, shade and seating area, and promoting valuable family time. We envision the inclusive playground to allow adults of all abilities to accompany their children or grandchildren and spend meaningful time together.”

McGeorge said school officials are hoping the playground can serve children and families from around Vermont, noting that there aren’t a lot of other structures like it in the state. Vermont’s first universally accessible playground was unveiled in Burlington this past November.

“It’s at Bristol Elementary School, but certainly we want it to be used by our community and the greater state for all families,” she said.

McGeorge noted school officials would like to create similar structures at other MAUSD schools, though currently there are no other projects in the works.

“Almost all of our playgrounds have an accessible swing, but that’s just the beginning,” she said. “We’re hoping to build more and more, at least through equipment on our playgrounds.”