$100,000 Playground Grant Awarded

$100,000 Grant to Improve Health, Activity, and Mental Well Being through Play

We are thrilled to announce that Oakridge Upper Elementary has successfully applied and been awarded a $100,000 grant to improve the physical health, physical activity, and mental well being of our students by installing new playground equipment.  Research demonstrates that when schools provide students with opportunities for self-directed play, student’s mental and physical health will improve.  Through play, children learn how to measure and take risks, to function in community with each other, and to build things using intuition and imagination. They learn how to initiate and direct their own activities.  As they mature, they learn critical thinking skills.  Peter Gray, Psychologist from Boston College, mentions in the above cited footnote article, “When we deprive children of play, we are taking away the activity that makes them most happy.”  

We have measurable impact targets in our school improvement plans that we aim to improve:

• Increase the percentage of students who responded always/often on the question “I feel like I do well in school” from 57% to 75% by Spring 2025 on the School Climate Survey
• Increase the percentage of students who responded always/often on the question “I like school” from 41% to 60% by Spring 2025 on the School Climate Survey
• Increase the percentage of students who responded always/often on the question “students treat each other well” from 47% to 70% by Spring 2025 on the School Climate Survey
• Increase the percentage of students who report being physically active for a total of at least 60 minutes per day on five or more of the past seven days on the next administration of the Michigan Profile for Health Youth (MiPHY) from 62% to 75%.   

The bottom line is that healthy kids learn better.   This investment will help us develop respectful, responsible, safe, and healthy students!