Skyline Elementary PTA 7.6.40

Welcome to our GoFundMe. We are reaching out to you, our amazing community, to ask for your financial support with our goal to replace the playground at Skyline Elementary School. The PTA, school staff, families, and the school district are working hard to make this goal happen. We cannot do this on our own and we need your help.

Our playground has been a space for thousands of children to burn off energy over the last 30 years. Unfortunately, our main play structure is now breaking down and falling apart. Our playground is used by 600 kids daily as well as families within our community. There is no public park in the area, so it sees lots of wear and tear. The lack of elements to choose from causes an overloading of the pieces we have. The layout and size of this structure make it difficult for our students to use all of the elements as intended. The surrounding field is shut down most of the year due to improper drainage, adding to the lack of options available to the kids. All of these issues are inhibiting us from meeting the physical, social, and emotional needs of our students during recess which impacts their entire day. With our current playground, we are unable to provide adequate play for all of our students. We support a diverse community of students who require updated equipment to fit their needs. We will be losing our swings as the district’s insurance policy will no longer cover them. Swings are a vital component of our playground, especially for the students in our specialized programs (3 classrooms, currently 32 students). We will need new elements to replace not only the motion that the swings currently provide but the fine and gross motor skills our students desperately need. Our goal is to bring a safe, inclusive and accessible playground to our school.

Our new playground will meet the needs of all our children. There will be multiple elements to help spread out the students. The first structure is for kids who mainly want to slide, with five slides of various sizes. The second structure is for kids who want to climb, balance, hang, and utilize full-body movement. Additional elements placed around the playground will allow imaginative play, swinging motions, interactive play panels, and places to rest. The new structures will be inclusive and have elements that ALL students can use.

Our city has grown at an exponential rate over the last few years and our School District is working tirelessly to keep up with the growth. There is no money available from our last school district bond. Our next bond is too far away for the needs we have now. We are a Title 1 school and have been trying to raise funds to replace this playground for more than 15 years. Doing this on our own has proven to be extremely challenging and is taking far too long. Unfortunately, we as a PTA do not qualify for most of the grants that are out there. We are now expanding our efforts to try and make this playground upgrade a reality for our current and future students as well as the community who access the playground. Please help us make a difference. We will be forever grateful.

Here is the price breakdown of the playground project. We are trying to raise additional funds to cover any unforeseen charges.

You can help us bring this much-needed playground to our school by donating as well as sharing our GoFundMe with others. No donation is too small as every dollar helps. Once we have met our goal, any additional funds will go towards programs and future playground projects at Skyline Elementary School. We appreciate your generosity.