- Bluff Ridge Elementary is fundraising for an inclusive playground for students with disabilities.
- The playground will feature adaptive equipment for students with physical and sensory needs.
- Community support includes a 5K, an auction, and donations from local businesses and families.
SYRACUSE — At Bluff Ridge Elementary, recess is supposed to be a time of movement, connection and fun.
But for some students, especially those with physical disabilities or sensory needs, the playground doesn't always offer a place where they can join in.
That's why teachers, staff and families are coming together to raise money for an all‑abilities playground, one designed to be accessible for every child on campus.
"We have several students at our school that have no playground equipment to play on during recess. Either they're in wheelchairs or walkers, or they have sensory needs," Principal Megan Fairbourn said. "We're just working to raise money for that."
Bluff Ridge Elementary serves hundreds of students, and school leaders say every single one of them deserves to feel included, especially during unstructured time like recess.
The proposed playground would include adaptive equipment such as swings and sensory features, allowing students of all abilities to play side by side rather than separately.
Administrators say the goal isn't just access — it's belonging.
"As a principal, my most important job is to make sure that every student feels like they belong," Fairbourn said. "At recess, there are some students who don't have anything to play with, and so they don't feel like they belong."
Teachers say the school has already taken important steps toward inclusion beyond the playground.
"We have some awesome faculty and staff here who have put their heart and soul into this," Fairbourn said.
Bluff Ridge is recognized as a Unified Champion School, focusing on building connections between general education students and those with special needs.
Those efforts continue inside the classrooms and in the hallways.
"We actually just started a peer tutoring program in our upper grades. So for 30 minutes during the day, I have a student go and help in our essential elements class," said Kalli Sims, a fifth grade teacher. "So that way when they see the students around the hallway, that they feel comfortable with them and that they feel like that they can include them at recess or in the hallways."
Staff members say programs like peer tutoring help students build empathy and friendships early, but the playground is the missing piece.
Without accessible equipment, some students still watch from the sidelines during one of the most important parts of the school day. That's where the community has stepped in.
"We don't want to exclude anybody. We want to include everybody. And so this was just one way to raise some money for that," said Rhonda Stoker, a third grade teacher. "We're doing a 5K. We're doing an auction. We're doing food trucks. We're doing raffles. We're just doing all we can to raise the money. So they have a place to play."
Donations have helped move the project forward, with local businesses and families contributing time, resources, and support.
School leaders say the response has been overwhelming, and a reminder of what can happen when a community rallies around its kids.
"Every single one of our students will benefit from the new playground, because every single student in the entire school will have the opportunity to play with it," Fairbourn said.
