Did you know Bell Elementary’s playground is not ADA compliant? We recently had a Bell student who was unable to play with her friends on the playground because she could not access it with her wheelchair. When we see injustices like this, we must act!
This is where we come in. The PTSA advocates for children. That is our core purpose.
We started working on this issue in 2019. Since then, we have contacted the school principal (Mr. Story has been so helpful!), the LWSD School Board, the superintendent of LWSD, and the executive director of support services for LWSD. The effort has paid off!
We are thrilled to announce that this summer the Lake Washington School District will update Bell’s playground! The updates will include the following:
- Accessibility – The district will make our playground ADA Compliant.
- Playground surfacing – The district will be piloting rubber play tiles at Bell. (The current LWSD standard is wood play chips – you should try rolling a wheelchair in wood chips!) The play tiles will be under the play structures.
- Playtoy structure will be updated – The wooden play structure has become outdated and will be replaced.
Early estimates indicate that this project will cost approximately $300K. In addition to the district's investment, the PTSA will be voting to approve PTSA funds for further enhancements (PTSA members will be voting during the next PTSA meeting, March 25th).