Highland Elementary’s new playground completed

By Cheryl Allen
Posted 11/22/22

Sometimes you get what you ask for. 

Back in September, the superintendent of the Highland Community School District hoped that the new playgrounds being installed at the elementary school …

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Highland Elementary’s new playground completed

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Sometimes you get what you ask for. 

Back in September, the superintendent of the Highland Community School District hoped that the new playgrounds being installed at the elementary school would be completed by Thanksgiving. 

Wish granted.

On Nov. 18, I’m back at Highland Elementary in Riverside, and it’s a much different day than when I last visited two months ago.  On that blue-sky day, students actively enjoyed their morning recess in shorts and tees; today, the playgrounds are quiet under gray-white clouds and frosty 18-degree temps.

An entirely new pre-K playground has sprouted up in the intervening months.  What I last saw as leveled dirt and rock has become a clean, new playspace on the west side of the school. 

The area had originally been grass that served no special function other than to keep maintenance staff busy on the lawnmower.  When the school district found itself with $700,000 unspent from its $3.7 million bond, they decided to add a pre-K playground, in addition to other outdoor improvements. 

“This is not supposed to be anybody but four and five-year-olds out here,” Superintendent Ken Crawford explains as we survey the finished space. 

For little kids, the fully fenced-in area is especially desirable.  “The teachers are saying, ‘You know, it’s nice not to have people wander off,” Crawford says. 

A soft, spongy surface covers the ground underneath the play equipment.  Kids have ample space to enjoy sets of swings and slides; a tunnel, merry-go-round, and teetertotter round out the options for play.  Clean new cement loops through the area, ready for the students to bring the tricycles out of the shed and ride.

Around the corner to the back, a covered sandbox and picnic table invite students to get creative with sand sculpting or sit down and relax.

“Just for the kids.  That’s what we’re doing,” Crawford remarks as we conclude the tour.

Lucky kids, indeed.

The pre-K playground is just one part of Highland Elementary’s new playground, ballfield, and activity surface project that began in June.  Recall that story by referring to your Sept. 13, 2022, issue of The News.