PlayCore, a leading designer, manufacturer, and marketer of a broad range of play and recreation products is proud to recognize the Jackson Elementary School Playground as a National Demonstration Site for Play On! Youth Fitness. The new playground, located in Hillsboro, OR creates a space to promote active, healthy lifestyles. To celebrate, a grand opening ceremony will be held on Thursday, August 31st, at 7 P.M. at 675 NE Estate Drive, Hillsboro, OR 97124.
“This new playground is the result of a grassroots effort from Jackson parents and surrounding community,” said Sarah Crane, Principal of Jackson Elementary School.
Jackson Elementary School’s previous playground equipment was over 20 years old. To replace the structure and provide a place where children could reap the benefits of play, parents set out to develop a new play space that implemented research-based best practices.
To make this dream a reality, funding was received from a variety of events such as the jump-a-thon, a neighborhood garage sale, and local donations. In addition, the school was awarded a $5,000 grant from the Hillsboro Schools Foundation’s Innovative Grant Program.
Sarah Crane noted, “Our students were involved at every level from choosing elements, providing input on layout, and even determining the colors! To have a new playground is incredible for our students, but to have a new playground that is also recognized as a National Demonstration Site is truly remarkable.”
Together with the help of GameTime playground agency, MRC Recreation, students, parents, and the community designed a new play structure focusing on the unique curriculum found in Play On!.
The Play On! curriculum is a program created in partnership with PlayCore and SHAPE America to introduce active play opportunities on the playground. SHAPE America is a governing body that establishes standards for developing physically literate students.
The new structure, now recognized as a National Demonstration Site for Play On!, features six key elements of play designed to promote physical activity including balancing, brachiating, swinging, climbing, sliding, and spinning. It encourages children to move, explore, and engage in active play while providing developmental progression of skills for beginner, intermediate, and advanced level users.
In addition, the new site also includes multi-sensory equipment for the school’s Life Skills Program.
“The playground reinforces our commitment as a school to inclusive practices, movement, and the outdoors, and also to our community. We are beyond grateful for all the hard work that made this playground possible,” said Sarah Crane.
To celebrate the new Jackson Elementary School playground and community support to advance play and recreation through best practices, the playground will receive a certificate of recognition, become a part of a network of potential research sites, and will be promoted actively to other communities wishing to create recreation spaces using best practices in design and/or programming. For more information about Jackson Elementary School, visit www.hsd.k12.or.us. To locate the new site, check out www.pointsmap.com/playcore.
