A Community Playground, Accessible To All.

When we think about our own school days, most of us can tell stories of playground antics and favorite games at recess. Our time outside the school building contributed to how well we absorbed the lessons inside and just as importantly, taught us how to get along with each other, no matter how different we might seem.

I believe that all of our kids deserve those same opportunities. Henrico County Public Schools educates nearly 50,000 students and over 2,000 of them receive special education services because of a disability. Most of us are familiar with academic “mainstreaming” (bringing students of varying abilities together in classrooms whenever possible and also in other settings), but this important stride has not always extended to the traditional mixing bowl of the school playground where site and equipment design often create barriers for children with disabilities.

All Kids Are Special, a group of Henrico educators and parents, has proposed a plan for a new kind of community playground at Dorey Park on Darbytown Road. Modeled after “A Playground for Katie and Friends” in Chesterfield County, the inclusive playground would welcome all children regardless of their differing physical and mental abilities. The Dorey Park location would conveniently serve several nearby schools that provide zone programs for students with disabilities and, unlike a playground located at a school, would benefit the entire community.

All Kids Are Special promotes the Dorey Park playground as an invaluable resource for children to “engage, interact, communicate . . . [and] become part of the community where they live.” Inclusive play promotes the physical, mental, emotional, and social development of all children and for those with disabilities it enhances the progress they make in physical, occupational, and speech and language therapy.

I support the All Kids Are Special initiative and as a member of the Henrico School Board I will promote collaboration by the nonprofit, business, and school communities to make Dorey Park a place where all Henrico’s families can play.

Sincerely,

John Montgomery

 

Paid for and authorized by John Montgomery.