EW Thompson students selling cards for playground items

The students at EW Thompson State School love to play.

On Friday afternoon, a small group of students worked with physical education teacher Amanda Sims to roll a bowling ball toward a grouping of pins. Matthew Neth, 11, jumped with joy when he knocked down the pins and Brenna Bock, 11, smiled widely when her teachers encouraged her with claps and cheers.

The EW Thompson State School, which is located on Thompson Boulevard, serves students with severe disabilities. Of the 24 students enrolled, about 50 percent are confined to wheelchairs and most are non-verbal. The students who attend the state school range in age from 5 to 21 and their school is supported primarily by funds appropriated each year by the Missouri Legislature.

The school’s curriculum is based on knowledge that is frequently used in the home, community or workplace.
While the students spend hours in the classroom and playing indoor games with Sims, they also need outside time. But according to Building Administrator Jackie Wilkerson, their current playground doesn’t meet the updated Americans with Disabilities Act standards. The fence is too short and the dated equipment isn’t wheelchair accessible because of the rutted, grassy ground it sits on.

Wilkerson said the school is scheduled to receive $85,000 in state funds to use to rebuild the playground. Wilkerson said the money will be used to remove the chain-link fence, excavate the ground, install drainage and install a new 6-foot fence. A concrete pad and a covered picnic area also will be constructed.

But adding a handicap-accessible play structure and rubberized flooring will cost an additional $20,000 to $25,000. To raise the funds, the school has begun selling white cards that feature a picture of a playground. The cards, which cost $1, are hung in the school’s entrance with each donor’s name.

Wilkerson said the idea came from the State Fair Community College nursing students who do rotations at the school.

“We have raised $1,500 from the sale of the cards so far,” she said.

Registered Nurse Gin Kellerman, who has worked at the school for three years, said an outside play area is extremely important.

“Sometimes this is the only good place these kids can spend quality time outdoors,” she said.

Kellerman said if the students are mobile they are at risk for developing contractures, which is a shortening of the muscles. Many of the students have lung issues as well, and the movement is good for them.

“They also need plenty of sunshine,” she said.

The current state of the playground also creates a safety hazard during fire drills because it is time-consuming and difficult to push wheelchairs across the grass, Wilkerson said.

Although a new playground is needed for both safety and health reasons, Wilkerson said she just enjoys seeing the students have fun.

“They really are God’s children,” Wilkerson said, “watching them achieve is wonderful and rewarding.”
The cards are available at the school, Total Fitness and from SFCC nursing students.