Two students at Seven Oaks Elementary School Global Magnet turned a simple writing assignment into a life changing inclusivity opportunity for their peers.
Current fifth graders Ka’Ren Tate and Zhuri Smith volunteered to take their teacher’s persuasive writing assignment about playgrounds and turn it into a way to help those with disabilities at their school. Their letters addressed to Seven Oaks Elementary Principal Dr. Angie Slatton, were not only read but acted upon by Slatton herself.
“Last year one of our fourth-grade classes was writing persuasive letters about playgrounds,” Slatton said. “It was so heartwarming that our student leaders wanted to ensure that students with disabilities had inclusion experiences on our playgrounds so they came up with the idea of communication boards. As we were looking for ways to fund the project, we were very blessed to have a partnership with Trane Technologies. They have groups of volunteers called The Purple Team who donated and installed the boards for us.”
Kristie Jordan, Change Agent for Trane Technologies, said, “I am deeply grateful for Trane Technologies’ commitment to social responsibility and the Purple Team, who helped support this project. These communication boards empower every child to express themselves and fully participate in play. This fosters inclusion, independence, and a sense of belonging, reflecting our leadership principle of serving others. We look forward to continuing our support of the Seven Oaks Elementary family and being welcomed in.”
Fourth grade teacher Jasmine Cohen who initiated the assignment said the communication boards have helped build connections between students who have different learning needs.
“The communication boards allow our students to connect with other students that maybe don’t speak the same language as them or have different learning needs,” Cohen said. “I am so proud of our Zhuri and Ka’Ren and how they have made a difference in so many lives even though they were only fourth graders. “
Tate and Smith both said they wanted to help those students in their school with disabilities and ensure they didn’t have to watch their peers play during recess.
“My teacher asked who wants to write about the playground and how to make it better and I suggested we have a sign to help those kids with disabilities or don’t like to speak,” Smith said.
Tate added, “It’s not fair for those with disabilities to just sit down and watch other people play and this was one way to help them play with us and not feel left out. When I saw the board out on the playground, I was so happy because I didn’t actually think it would happen.”
Slatton said it’s been so great for their students to see how they can help each other and that when they advocate, change can happen.
“It’s been a wonderful project for us to be able to share the excellence that is Seven Oaks,” Slatton said. “It’s really important to me that when students advocate and show their leadership, that we as adults follow through. I think it’s important that students see the leadership in themselves and this gives them that opportunity and to see that their voices matter.”
