School News

     The moment the learners' feet hit the playground at the Seattle Center their joyful screens filled the air for the colossal play structure. Touring above them, a four-story tall slide laddered up by a spider web of ropes to climb. On the other side of the playground, the learners tested their listening as they pressed their ears next to hidden speakers, eager to listen to their friend on the other side.  

     I loved the playground when I was young. There weren’t swings, but all the play sets spoke to me. I jumped with glee on the shaky bridge, and the plastic swirly slide made my hair stand from static. If the sun hadn’t beamed the metal slide hot to touch, I swooped down so fast I sometimes flew off onto the ground. Under the jungle gym and the slide was my safe space from the Hawai’i heat and for hanging out with friends.  

     What was your playground experience like?  

     I value the sense of being grounded in my reality, in my senses. My educational experience wouldn’t have been the same without those resources. Play is meditative; it can be therapy. However, some students don’t have that privilege. Some students don’t have access to enriching learning experiences to share with their peers.  

     In the new APL campus, no playground is the case on move-in. With APL’s transition from the Roosevelt and U-Heights campuses to the new unified campus on Capitol Hill, the new buildings are missing an enriching space they have had at their previous campuses. Without this space these learners would not have the opportunity to experience the joyful memories I and maybe you once had.  

     APL has been working with community partners to build a sensory playground tailored to the wants and needs of the student learners. With the help from parents and students, APL brainstormed the endless possibilities of fixtures, dips, and hills. We are excited to have this play space for our learners in the future—but we are not there yet! It will be coming soon, but not without help. 

     During the brainstorming event, the learners tested out tall caves to hide within and small sloped climbing obstacles. The spaces were works of art along with their playful capacities. It was evident the APL community will benefit and need this enrichment.  

     Supporters of APL make student learning possible. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, we need supporters who share our same APL values as collaboration and inclusivity to help us develop these learners into thriving adults.  

     A donation of any size shows us that we have support to continue our mission. Every little bit helps, and every little bit helps us closer to our goal. A donation may become a sensory cave, maybe a swing, maybe a climbing wall. The possibilities are endless. But the possibilities end when we don’t have support from our community. Can we count on you to help us make this playground a success?