Oak Forest Principal's Wish List Helps Create Accessible Playground

OAK FOREST, IL — When Regina Schnell became the principal of the Southwest Cooperative at Morton Gingerwood School in Oak Forest three years ago, she brought with her an ambitious wish list that many might blush at for a building that the school won’t even own for several years.

But Schnell has always lived by the philosophy of asking for forgiveness first and permission second, which in her mind, made her aspirations for the changes she wanted to see made at the school more attainable. The school provides learning space for students who live with autism and various sensory processing and communication disorders, which inspired the school’s principal to want to make their educational experience as rewarding as possible.

That included the student’s time outside of the classroom itself.

On Monday, the school opened a playground that offers accessible equipment and surroundings that all the school’s students can enjoy. While many outsiders may just see a playground, Schnell sees an opportunity for a school that uses recreation time as part of its play-based learning educational philosophy without placing restrictions on any of the program’s students.

“I think it’s going to open doors,” Schnell told Patch last week.

The playground’s opening, Schnell said, brought a level of excitement that the principal says she has never experienced in her career as a school administrator and perhaps, during her whole life’s work as an educator. As workers put the finishing touches on the playground space, the school and its students eagerly counted down the days until the park could be used, which finally came to an end on Monday.

Last week, a picture was hung inside the building, replacing the one that showed the previous park space the school used for activities and play-based learning. That only drove excitement among students and staff who have eagerly been awaiting the park’s opening. The opening has become a reality despite the fact that the Southwest Cooperative, which is part of a bigger cooperative special education program in Cook County, is on a seven-year lease-to-own agreement with the school district.

Schnell's blueprint for the playground originated out of an otherwise routine trip to Jewel in Oak Forest, where Schnell was shopping for a rotisserie chicken for that night’s dinner with her daughter. What started as a request to connect with a manager to request a platter of cookies for the school’s inaugural graduation ceremony instead turned into something much bigger.

The person who approached Schnell's daughter and offered to help her pick out a chicken turned out to be Jewel-Osco President Mike Withers, who has become one of the school’s biggest champions. Since that meeting, Jewel-Osco has partnered with the school to provide funding improvements at the school — including the playground that finally became open to students on Monday.

“He had no idea what he was getting himself into,” Schnell said last week of Withers' involvement with the school improvement project. “He thought he was donating cookies. It was probably the most expensive tray of cookies he has ever donated.”

In a statement issued to Patch last week, Jewel-Osco said it has long partnered with local schools and believes that “kids should be able to enjoy access to playground equipment that everyone can use.”

The statement continued: We are committed to helping the communities we serve through the Jewel-Osco Foundation and our Nourishing Neighbors Program. We are dedicated to ensuring we make an impact by supporting these types of projects that make a difference.”

The new playground includes a surface that is smooth for wheelchairs and also features playground equipment that is safe for all students. The previous playground included equipment with peeling plastic and rusted-out spaces that created safety concerns. The previous surface was a rubber tire surface that wasn’t ideal for wheelchairs or other students.

During a visit with Withers and with contractors, Schnell pointed to an area where three students were seated because they couldn’t use the playground and park area. Schell said that the contractor noticed the students and teared up. Schnell asked the contractor how he would feel if one of the children was his son and his son couldn’t participate in outdoor activities the same activities, how would he feel?

“I think there needs to be a change right now,” the contractor responded. “And I want to be part of it.”

Jewel previously aided the school in the creation of its life skills room, which was converted from a teacher’s lounge to a space where students can learn important life skills. Working off a blueprint that Schnell drew on a napkin, an architect created the space that now includes a washer and dryer, an ADA-compliant island with sinks, a stove, and four microwaves that can now be used by students.

Like with the life skills area that opened last year, the park’s creation came out of a working sketch that Schnell doodled on a napkin. The new playground features a new rubber poured-in surface that is not only smooth enough for wheelchairs but is safe enough for all students to run and play (and fall) without fear of injury, Schnell said. The school’s adaptive physical education teacher can now also hold classes in the park space where students can learn various activities and participate in stretching and yoga — all while in an enclosed area where safety comes first.

Jewel-Osco also provided a six-foot fence that wraps around the park area, making it even safer for students participating in school activities. Schnell said that the space will also host movies that students and parents can enjoy together and other community events in which students can feel safe. The space will also include a series of pictures and words, which — through the use of augmentative communication devices like iPads — assist students to have students who can’t speak in having conversations with adults.

With the playground now open, Schnell becomes emotional in describing the impact the space will have on the school's students.

“It is just a blessing to have this playground and just let (students) be kids,” Schnell told Patch.

She added: “I never thought it could be this exciting. When we got to the building, there were so many things we had to work on. It’s kind of like when you become a homeowner, you think of all the things you want to work on. And what would a child want? A child wants to play. …and it’s been a dream to be able to get things for kids.”