Orange County school opens accessible playground for all students

Students with physical challenges now able to use playground at Lake Silver Elementary

Ribbon cutting at Silver Lake Elementary (Copyright 2023 by WKMG ClickOrlando - All rights reserved.)

Lake Silver Elementary held a ribbon-cutting ceremony Wednesday for its fully refurbished playground for students with physical challenges.

Every area of the playground is wheelchair accessible and open to every child at the school. There is a water station outside and the entire playground is under a covered shelter.

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“They are really lucky to have this vast covered playground, and we’re celebrating this partnership between some of our community members, the Church on the Drive,” School Board Member Dr. Karen Castor Dentel said.

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Community organizations, including Church on the Drive in Orlando, contributed to the renovation of the school’s playground which was falling into disrepair by 2022.

“We said, ‘We’ll come help with that,’ and we got over here, and we said, ‘We can do this,’” Church on the Drive Pastor Josh Plant said.. “We are going to do whatever we can for these kids because they deserve it.”

It took more than 1,800 work hours to complete the playground refurbishment over the last year and a half, according to Lake Silver Elementary Principal Nathan Hay.

“They come to help repaint it, and refurbish it, and fix it back up because kids couldn’t use it for the last year, so we’re celebrating not just the start of school, but how we’re going to be accessible to include all of our children,” Castor Dentel said

As school starts on Thursday, Castor Dentel also reminds the community to “just be careful out there, be safe, and know that we are going to take great care of your kids when they are at school tomorrow.”

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