A Landscape Master Plan For Doull Elementary School Campus ... · Doull Elementary School Part I:...
Transcript of A Landscape Master Plan For Doull Elementary School Campus ... · Doull Elementary School Part I:...
A Landscape Master Plan For Doull Elementary School Campus Improvements
Prepared by: Ryan Wallace
Learning Landscape Program
University of Colorado at Denver
May 2004
Doull Elementary School
Master Plan For Doull Elementary School
Prepared For: Denver Public Schools 900 Grant St. Denver, Colorado Reviewed , Principal, Doull Elementary date Reviewed , CSC Representative date Reviewed , P. M., DPS Facility Management date Reviewed , Grounds Supervisor, DPS date
Facility Management
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Doull Elementary School
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Cover Signatures Table of Contents Project Information 1 The Challenge 1 The Solution 2 The Intent of the Master Plan 2 Part I: Assessing the Present Situation 4 The Location 4 History 6 Demographics 7 The Constituents 8 Staff, Teachers, and Parents 11 Survey of Community Desires 12 Site Inventory and Safety Assessment 15 General Surface Areas 15 Playground Equipment 17 ECE 17 Intermediate 17 Playing Fields 17 Concrete Areas 18 Asphalt Areas 18 Vegetation 18 Pedestrian Access 20 Vehicular Access/ Parking 20 Handicap Accessibility 21 Drainage 21 Surrounding Uses 21 Part II: Future Aspirations 22 Vision 22 Goals 22 Program Elements 22 Spatial Diagram 24 Ordering System 25 Precedence Study 25 Systems 26 Composite 28 Fulfilling the Goals 29 Appendix A 30 Program Safety Site Assessment 30 Site Inventory 32 Appendix B 34 Student Photo Survey 34 Parent Photo Survey 35 Teacher Photo Survey 36 Appendix C 37 Cost Estimate 37
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Doull Elementary School
Part I: Assessing the Present Situation
The Location
The Harvey Park and Harvey Park South neighborhoods are located west of Federal
Boulevard between the roads of Jewell Avenue on the north and US Highway 285 on the south.
The neighborhood itself was built primarily after 1940 with only one percent prior. The two
neighborhoods continue west approximately to Sheridan Boulevard with a small section that
crosses Sheridan at the Target Store. The area is defined by commercial zones located on both
Federal and Sheridan Boulevard as well as along Hampden Avenue on the South that features a
collection of popular chain stores and many small owned businesses. As is the case with other
commercial zones there are signs of building turnover and new development. The main
landmark that defines the Harvey Park neighborhood is the Teikyo Loretto Heights University1
located on Federal
Boulevard. The
Teikyo Loretto
Heights University
becomes the
defining landmark
because of its sheer
size as well as the
distances at which it
can be seen.
Having the
University as the
defining landmark
denotes where you
are, and with the commercial zones on the perimeter it defines the edge, but there is no real
transition or mixture of building uses into the Harvey Park area.
1. Teikyo Loretto Heights, Source: Ryan Wallace
Within the neighborhoods there is a variety of old and new, small and large homes
dispersed intermittingly within the area. Some homes have landscaping figurines that suggest
heritage and religious affiliations, which would explain the many churches in the neighborhood.
Other homes are run down and seem to employ make shift materials to cover up building
deterioration and property damage. Also, with some of the older homes you can see that they
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Doull Elementary School
treat their back yards as storage, rather than using them as personal activity space. One could see
various beaten down home furnishings lying outside. Harvey Park features a collection of
apartments as well as new developments, suggesting economic diversity and neighborhood
expansion. This expansion further illustrated through the demographic profile that suggests both
parents, which are mainly first time home buyers, work because of the jump from annual
individual income to family income.
The streets within the site are wide and comfortable with a select few featuring a built up
median. Orientation in the neighborhood can be judged by location of several churches, schools,
and the large Harvey Park Lake, located in the northern region of the neighborhood. The
Harvey Park Lake itself seemed to be the only large green space for gathering in the
neighborhood, but unfortunately it seemed uninviting because of the barbwire fencing
surrounding the lake. Since the park is the main green space in the neighborhood it seems to
give the people in the community some opportunities for physical activity beyond their school
and personal yards. Territory in the Harvey Park and Harvey Park South neighborhoods seems
to be more clearly denoted in the older section. A new development in the Harvey Park South
had fairly average size yards with no fences where as the older homes, for the most part, had tall
wood fences and numerous vehicles marking their territory.
The Harvey
Park and Harvey Park
South neighborhoods
in all resemble so
many other
neighborhoods across
the country. They
offer green spaces for
outdoor activity and
with the location of
the homes to the
commercial areas it
does not need to be
auto dependent but is. On the other hand, what makes these neighborhoods so unique is that
they have a mixture of homes that are so relatively close together that it makes for a diverse
community.
2. Harvey Park Neighborhood, Source: Ryan Wallace
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Doull Elementary School
Map 1: Doull Elementary Location Map, Source Mapquest
History
Frances R. Doull (1888-1954)
Frances R. Doull, whose memory this school is named, was born in Las Vegas, territory
of New Mexico on August 7, 1888. She served the Denver Public Schools from 1908 until her
retirement in 1953. Miss Doull graduated from West Denver High School at sixteen years of age.
In 1908, she graduated with honors from Colorado State College of Education in Greeley,
Colorado.
In the fall of the same year, she started her career as a Denver teacher in the seventh and
eighth grades at Cheltenham School. Several years later she was made supervisor of the
handwriting department of the Denver Public Schools. In this position she attained city, state,
and regional recognition for her outstanding work. Some of her achievements were:
Appointment as handwriting representative for Zaner-Bloser Company for all western states,
supervisor of teacher’s and children’s handwriting in Denver, author and co-author of several
handwriting and alphabet cards and scales, teacher of college and extension classes in
handwriting, and instructor of in-service meetings in handwriting for Denver teachers. Learning Landscapes – CU Denver 6
Doull Elementary School
Miss Doull was acting principal of Smedley School from 1924 until 1926. She was
appointed principal of Twenty-Fourth Street School in 1926, and in 1930 became principal of
Ashland School. She served at the latter school until her retirement in 1953.
Because of her outstanding service to Denver in the field of education, it is a worthy and
fitting tribute that an elementary school bears her name.
Frances R. Doull passed away on September 9, 1954.
Zaner-Bloser handwriting sample. Source: www.zanerbloser.com
Demographics
Harvey Park has a population of 11,229 residences. This population is divided among
several ethnicities including; 0.9% African American; 0.8% Native American; 4.3% Asian; 42.8%
Latino; and 49.8% non-Latino White. These demographics are different from the schools; Doull
has a majority Latino population. (See Table 2)
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Map 2: Harvey Park/South Location Map, Source: www.DenverGov.com
The Constituents
There are 532 (625 maximum) students at Doull Elementary School ranging from Early
Childhood Education program through fifth grade. 64.1% of the students at Doull Elementary
qualify for free or reduced-priced lunch during the 2003-2004 school year. There are also a
number of students who speak Spanish or another language as their primary language. These
factors did not seem to influence the CSAP scores (See Table 6) greatly. Their scores have varied
slightly since 1999, but appear to be consistent.
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Doull Elementary School
Table 1. Doull Elementary Demographics, Source Jayne Sbarboro, Principal Doull.
Number of Students 532
ECE (Early Childhood Education for four year olds in two sessions is
funded by the Colorado Child Placement (CPP) program, which caps ECE
class size at 15 students.
31
DLC (Developmental Learning Center(DLC) for students 5-7 years old
exhibiting developmental delays and an) 16
Special Education 9
Grade 1 77
Grade 2 74
Grade 3 71
Grade 4 84
Grade 5 89
Table 2. Doull Elementary Demographics, Source DPS Website.
Ethnicity
14.2%
75.9%
2.5%
1.0%
6.4%
American Indian
African American
Asian
Latino
non-Latino White
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Table 3. Doull Elementary Demographics, Source DPS Website.
Student Attendance 2002-2003
Length of school year 175 days Average daily attendance 94.7%
Table 4. Doull Elementary Demographics, Source Jayne Sbarboro, Principal Doull.
Teachers 21 Paraprofessionals (Teaching Assistants) 16 Administrators (Principal, Vice Principal, etc...) 5 Other Professionals (Counselors, Speech Therapist, Psychologist, etc...) 7 School Support (Custodial, Security Guards, etc…) 9 Table 5. Percent of students who are English Language Learners 2002-2003, Source DPS Website.
Total 23.9%Native language is Spanish 20.4% Native language other than Spanish 3.5%
Table 6: Scores for the Colorado Student Assessment Program (CSAP) are outlined below, providing a standardized
assessment of student performance compared to previous years, other students in the DPS system, and other
students throughout Colorado. Source: Denver Public Schools Website.
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
Grade 3Reading
Grade 3Writing
Grade 4Reading
Grade 4Writing
Grade 5Reading
Grade 5Writing
Grade 5 Math
Colorado Student Assessment Program 2003 (CSAP)
DoullDPSColorado
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Table 7. Colorado Student Assessment Program Source: Denver Public Schools Website
CSAP Trends At Doull Elementary
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
1999 2000 2001 2002 2003
Per
cen
t P
rofi
cen
t
Grade 3 Reading Grade 3 Writing Grade 4 Reading Grade 4 Writing
Grade 5 Reading Grade 5 Writing Grade 5 Math
Staff, Teachers, and Parents
Doull Elementary offers a wide variety of service to students. Staffing at the school
ranges from full time teachers and teaching assistants to psychologist and speech therapists that
come in on a limited basis. The principal at the school is Ms. Jayne Sbarboro who is starting her
second year as principal at Doull. She has over 20 years of involvement with schools and
children, 16 of which are as a teacher in various Denver Public Schools. She was also recognized
in 1998 with a Denver Outstanding Teacher Award. Doull Elementary is also very fortunate to
have a Parent-Teachers Association (PTA) that has worked to purchase new equipment for the
playground. The PTA has been a very positive group in the school yard.
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3. Collage of Doull Elementary School, Inspired by Students, Teachers, and Community. Source: Ryan Wallace.
“Clearly, outdoor play can stimulate physical-motor development. In addition, however, playgrounds are a positive setting for enhancing social interaction.”
Kraft, 1989
Survey of Community Desires
Students, teachers, and community groups were questioned to determine their needs and
wants for the existing schoolyard. These came from meeting with the PTA president, Faculty
meeting, and interviews with students.
Students were questioned individually while playing on the playground and also by being
given the chance to artistically show their wants with art projects and a photo survey. Interaction
with the students on the playground revealed obvious wants, like basketball, seating, and shade.
The art projects; however, gave an assortment of ideas. The expansive playground gave the
students an opportunity to express their ideas on a seemingly blank canvas. Students had many
activities ranging from water slides to rocket ships, in their personal art projects.
At a morning faculty meeting teachers voiced their needs and wants. The teachers had a
variety of ideas, as had the students. Anything from a garden, more basketball courts, or just new
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grass in the ECE playground were suggested for improvements to the playground. A meeting
with the president of the PTA gave similar results as the faculty. The overall consensus seemed
to be a need for scale. The sheer size of the playground blurs what could be clear divisible
spaces. A desire to phase in play equipment while waiting for bond money was also expressed at
these meetings.
The needs and wants that were obtained from these meetings have been compiled in
Table 8 & 9 below. Table 8: Vision Matrix, Source Ryan Wallace.
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Table 9: Photo Survey Results, Source Ryan Wallace.
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
teth
erba
ll
shad
e/fo
rest
map
s
bask
etba
ll
scul
ptur
e
quie
t pla
ces
gate
way
gras
s fie
ld
art m
ural
boul
ders
wat
er p
lay
culti
vate
d ga
rden
quie
t pla
ces
clim
bing
wild
plac
es
gam
e ta
ble
play
grou
nd e
quip
men
t
swin
gs
outs
ide
clas
s
*SEE APPENDIX B FOR COMPLETE CHART
Photo Survey Results
# of Students # of Parents # of Teachers
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Site Inventory and Safety Assessment ( see Appendix A for evaluation forms)
The role of a playground in a child’s development is to provide for self-discovery –
opportunities to dig and build. It is also a gathering place and fosters the building of social skills.
The existing equipment does little to promote such an environment.
Table 10: General Surface Areas (see Map 3), Source DPS.
Surface Area (square feet) Percentage of Site Asphalt 67,500 (includes half court and parking
lot) 19.8
Playground soft surface 23,000 6.7 Grass 189,575 55.6 Concrete 20,750 6.1 Building 40,285 11.8 Total 341,110 100
General Surface Areas
Doull Elementary has a big sized lot, 7 acres, with three sides that access a street or
parking lot. The school grounds have a recently added Rockies Field, donated by the McCormick
Foundation, which greatly improves the appearance of the school yard. Drainage, for the most
part appears to be limited, except for the ECE playground and a few cracks. The playgrounds
are divided into two areas with the ECE playground located inside the “L” of the building and
the intermediate playground on the east side of the school.
The ECE is comprised of some new plastic equipment, swings, a spring toy, and a
sandbox located next to a small “grass” field. The general appearance of the ECE playground
appears to be in fair condition. The pea gravel is not compacted, but the “grassed” area is mainly
dirt and mud. Out of the equipment, two pieces are new and the remaining pieces are still in
good condition. Some of the playground equipment was installed when the school was built in
1955, but on the whole it seems to be in good shape.
The intermediate playground appears to have more problems and older equipment than
the ECE. Also, the location and security is not well suited being that portions of the playground
is out of the sight line from the center of the school yard. Two new plastic playgrounds were
installed, but the remaining equipment is original. The swings have a fenced area around them
that are entirely too small for safety concern and two ring spinners are students favorites, but will
require some improvements or removal.
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Map 3: Doull Elementary Site and General Surfaces, Source: Ryan Wallace.
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Playground Equipment
ECE Playground
The ECE playground is located in the “L” of the school next to a “grassed” (dirt) area.
The equipment includes a plastic playground and slide that are three years old. Also, on the lot
are swings (6), a climber, spring toy, and sandbox that are all original from 1955.
Intermediate Playground
The intermediate playground has two plastic playgrounds that are three years old. The
older, original equipment are a climber/Swing (9) combo, ring swings, and horizontal ladders and
bars. The swing area is fenced off, but the spacing between swings and fence is entirely too small
for safety concerns. The ring swings are also unsafe and need to be removed.
The surfaces of both areas are pea gravel with the ECE being in good shape while the
intermediate playground is very compacted. This is common as the intermediate playground sees
much more traffic than the ECE. Finally, both playgrounds only accommodate 32.5%, of the
students, creating tension between students currently enrolled. At maximum enrollment only
21.6% of the students would be occupied.
Playing Fields
The school has a
recently added Rockies
Field with three baseball
backstops/ diamonds and
an additional attached
field. These fields are in
excellent condition for all
activities. The ECE field
located next to the
building is not as lucky
and is a big mud puddle
during the wet season.
The irrigation on the site is in good condition due to these new fields.
4. Rockies Field, Source: Ryan Wallace
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Doull Elementary School
Concrete Areas
There is a limited
amount of concrete at the
school. Concrete is mainly
found in surrounding
sidewalks, retaining walls, and
stairs. The concrete is in
good shape but what falls on
it is the problem. Gravel
from the playground covers
the north sidewalk as does ice
in the winter. 5.Concrete Walks, Source: Ryan Wallace
Asphalt Areas The asphalt
area is located directly
attached to the
building and has
limited problems. The
asphalt itself is old,
but still in good
condition. Very few
puddles form during
rain or snow melt and
the playground has
good drainage. Cracks are visible along the drainage path on the south edge of the playground.
6. Tetherball/ Four Square, Source: Ryan Wallace
Vegetation
The grounds at Doull are in good condition, but still have some concerns. With the
addition of the Rockies Field, the grassed area south of the asphalt playground is in great
condition. Tall trees outline the west fence and in the ECE playground. Numerous other trees
fill the Northwest corner of the lot and on the north side of the school.
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7. School Entrance, Source: Ryan Wallace
“I would melt without the tree in front of my office window.”
Jayne Sbarboro, Principal
The real concerns for vegetation on the site come with the ECE playground, the garden, and
shade coverage inside the fences. What is left of the ECE playground and garden is dirt and
needs a makeover. Also, the six trees in the middle of the field will someday provide some nice
cover, but currently are insufficient.
8. Rockies Field, Source: Ryan Wallace
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Doull Elementary School
Pedestrian Access
Main access to the school is on the west side. The playground; however, have six
different entrances through
the chain link fence: one on
the north, three on the east,
and two on the west. The
north entrance causes one of
the biggest concerns, in that it
is not seen from the
playground as well as it has
the only steps on the site that
can be dangerous with the
rocks and ice. The size of the
playground makes a
challenging task for any teacher to completely regulate who enters or leaves the yard.
9. Pedestrian/Vehicular acces gate, Source: Ryan Wallace
Vehicular Access/Parking
Vehicular access and
parking is adequate, but could use
improvements. The number of
required parking spaces (per DPS
standards) for the site is met in
the one parking lot.. 63 spaces is
adequate for the school. Traffic
issues are a bigger concern with
Utica St. getting an abundance of
vehicles. Bus and parent drop
offs are located on that side along
with residence parking. This causes congestion problems in the morning and afternoon. Stuart
Street, however, has very little traffic.
10. Parking Lot, Source: Ryan Wallace
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Doull Elementary School
Handicap Accessibility
Handicap parking is limited to one space on the street, off the front (main) entrance.
Access is limited to two doors: front and east. Also, a steep ramp from the street directly to the
playground is located on the southwest corner of the building. The handicap accessibility is very
limited to the site as well as the building.
11. Handicap Parking Space, Source: Ryan Wallace
12. Minor Drainage Problems, Source: Ryan Wallace
Drainage
The drainage on the site is limited to a few puddles in the playground and some ice that
develops on the north side. Also, the ECE playground forms a big mud puddle when wet.
Surrounding Uses
The surrounding area is composed of residential homes with intermittent fire stations,
churches, and schools. This site being centrally located has a very secure atmosphere. The south
side of the site requires a little concern, because students on occasion will jump a backyard fence.
The majority of users to this playground are neighbors who live close to this location. Many
visitors to the neighborhood will use schools closer to the main roads, Harvey Park, or the
recreation center.
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Doull Elementary
Part II: Future Aspirations The second part of the master plan incorporates five areas that will establish the
guidelines for the design process. These five areas area:
• Vision
• Goals
• Program Elements
• Spatial Diagram
• Ordering System
Vision
The vision for Doull Elementary is for the school to become a central focus in the
neighborhood of Harvey Park. The size of the playground allows for many activities to take
place at once and to act as a gathering place for students or visitors throughout the week. A
destination point within Harvey Park Doull Elementary will then be able to satisfy the numerous
activities needed for this number of people.
Goals
1. To develop a central destination point within the Harvey Park Neighborhood.
2. To allow an active environment that promotes learning while satisfying the need for more
child activities.
3. To allow improvements to be phased in during the Bond Process.
Program Elements
Soft Surfaces
New ECE playground equipment area and grass playing field w/ new equipment
New Primary playground equipment area w/ new equipment
New Intermediate playground equipment area
Quiet Landscape @ Northeast corner
Swings (12 @ intermediate, 8 @ ECE; Proper setbacks)
Asphalt
Four Square (8 Total)
Tetherball (10 Total)
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Doull Elementary
Hopscotch (8 Total)
Basketball Court (6 Hoops)
Art Elements
Game tables with children artwork (3)
Educational Map or Lettering
Concrete
Revised walkway/plaza to new east side vehicular/parent drop-off/pickup
Handicap Access (@ parking lot, to site)
Landscaping
Outdoor classroom (Central Focus)
Bench near existing Cottonwood Tree
Interior trees (12)
Structures
Shade structure (1) @ Outdoor classroom
Gateway (1)
Soccer goals
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Spatial Diagram
The recently constructed Rockies Field/ Master Plan establishes a great basis for future
planning. A need to phase in play equipment during the Bond Process will be a consideration
while defining the playground. The Diagram below shows improvements that incorporate
existing conditions, phasing considerations, and future wants. Spatially the site is very expansive
and the need to define smaller spaces is needed. Map 4. Spatial Diagram. Source: Ryan Wallace
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Doull Elementary
Ordering System
A precedence study of two places was conducted to develop the ordering system for
Doull Elementary School. These two locations were Englewood Civic Center (for its central
layout) and The Wexner Center (for its juxtaposition of the campus grid versus street grid).
Englewood Civic Center has a central layout the flourish with activity and security,
something the school will use. The center also has a water feature and art that attracts many
people to the area.
The Wexner Center on the Campus of Ohio State is a great example of how two grid
systems can work together. The architecture as well as the landscaping can emphasize the other
creating magnificent spaces.
Source: Ryan Wallace
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The ordering systems of Doull Elementary School will be developed based on these two
precedence:
1. A Central organization focused on the outdoor classroom (red).
A central element will be used as a starting point to define smaller scale spaces
throughout the site.
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Doull Elementary
2. Two grids that explore the relationship of the Downtown Denver /Jeffersonian Grid
(yellow) and the slightly obscure campus grid (green).
The interaction of the two grids will allow for further exploration and education
of the systems that influence the students and school.
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Doull Elementary
Ordering System Composite
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Fulfilling the Goals
The Goals of the site will be fulfilled by:
#1 The site will become inviting to all community members by implementing a
neighborhood scale into the site. Breaking up the expansive scale of the playground into areas
that all individuals of the community can use will be accomplished in a couple of ways. The need
for specific areas (i.e. ECE, Primary, and Play fields) will be distinguished by locating a central
Outdoor classroom that acknowledges these areas. Next a vertical break is needed and will be
accomplished by adding a boulder field, seating walls and terraced primary and intermediate play
areas. Also, a neighborhood welcome mat will be the main purpose of gateway at the northeast
corner. Lastly, a vehicular drop-off that gives and inviting view of the site will be implemented
on the east side, inviting drivers to come back for other events.
#2 The improvements to the site will include an educational element of a map that in
conjunction with the ordering system, of the grids, will help to educate students about their
history. A relationship to local (the campus grid), state (the Jeffersonian grid), and Geographical
(also the Jeffersonian grid) will be educational as well as experimental. The addition of play
activities to these features will keep students active at the same time.
#3 The master plan has been established to allow the school (Doull and PTA) to develop
small pieces by raising money of their own, while waiting applying for Bond money. Keeping
existing equipment, like the new ECE and Primary playgrounds, located in the same position
more equipment can be added until future improvements are constructed (i.e. engineered wood
fiber). Also a need for ADA requirement will need to be vastly incorporated and can start with a
phase of the playground and work its way into the school
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