Choctaw school's students enjoy a level playing field
Dedication: Children celebrate completion of playground’s third phase

BY TIM HENLEY Comments 0
Published: November 4, 2009

CHOCTAW — Recess at Choctaw Elementary School is always inclusive. Children with disabilities play side-by-side with their peers, and no one is left watching from the sidelines.

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That’s all thanks to the school’s Dreamcatcher Playground, an accessible playground where children in wheelchairs can get to the equipment.

The playground was created in 2004. New features are added when funds become available, organizers said.

The playground’s foundation received an $8,000 Quality of Life Grant from the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation. The money was used to purchase a Sway Fun Glider apparatus, said Camilla Dude, grants writer for Dreamcatcher Playground Foundation.

The new apparatus has space for two wheelchairs, two large benches, a play table with cup holders and features a steel deck for extra durability.

The equipment is part of the playground’s third phase, which also includes a climbing structure.

"If we didn’t have this, then some kids wouldn’t be able to play on the playground,” project coordinator Barbara Schaefer said. "No one wants to be left out, and they shouldn’t have to.”

Schaefer said the playground is also beneficial to students who have developmental and motor skills delays.

"The kids are out there doing therapy on the playground,” Schaefer said.

The playground is open to metro-area children on weekends and after school on weekdays.