Playground Fence for Katie Rutan

Frontier Elementary School is a unique and special place. We are home to a diverse community of learners ranging from preschool through fifth grade, and we proudly house every elementary special education program offered within our school district but one. Our students bring a wide range of needs, abilities, and strengths to our building every single day, and it is our mission to make sure every one of them has access to the experiences and spaces they deserve

We are asking for support to take the very first step in building a dedicated outdoor play space for our preschool students. Our goal is to install a 30 x 40 foot fenced area with appropriate access gates on our campus. This fenced space would give our preschool students a secure, defined outdoor environment where they can play safely without the risk of elopement and without requiring one-on-one staff intervention just to go outside. This is the beginning of a larger vision. Once the fenced space is in place, we can begin bringing in physical therapy equipment, adapted play items, and PE materials to build out the space over time. District-level capital funding is appropriately directed toward critical building needs such as safety systems and heating and cooling infrastructure, which means community and grant support is essential for a project like this one. We are not asking to complete the entire vision today. We are asking for the foundation that makes everything else possible.

This fenced play area would immediately and directly impact the lives of our preschool students and their families. Children who currently have limited or no access to outdoor play would have a safe, joyful space of their own. Teachers and support staff would be able to take their students outside with confidence. Physical and occupational therapists would have an outdoor space to incorporate into treatment sessions. And our youngest learners, many of whom are working hard every day just to access the world around them, would have a place that was built with them in mind. Every child deserves to play outside. Every child deserves a space that is safe, welcoming, and designed for them. This project is our first step toward making that a reality for the smallest and most deserving learners at Frontier Elementary. We are grateful for the Idaho Lottery's commitment to Idaho's classrooms and students, and we humbly ask for your support in making this space a reality.