When then seventh-grader Noah McLeod saw that, he knew something needed to change. So, he talked with a multi-disabilities teacher at the school, Bev Spriggs, who also wanted to make the playground more accessible. And an idea was born.
“Working with those kids that have those special needs really opened my eyes to their needs,” McLeod said.
Another South Vienna multi-disabilities teacher, Erin Kegley, said McLeod volunteered to help out with the younger students when he had study hall and even rode the elementary bus to come to school early to help out in Kegley’s classroom.
“I really enjoyed it, I got to like the kids I worked with,” he said.
After talking with Kegley about improving the playground as an Eagle Scout project, McLeod went to work, designing, planning and completing a sidewalk project that would allow children with disabilities better access to the playground.
He did all the necessary digging, scheduling and staking of the concrete. With help from Kegley’s husband, Dan, who is a general contractor and was building a house nearby, the sidewalk was completed.
McLeod also worked to raise funding for the project. After making presentation to Springfield Rotarians, the club agreed to pay for the half the cost. He raised $2,000 for the project, and Springfield Rotary matched that $2,000. The South Vienna PTO, Dan Kegley Construction, S&D Innovatiors, Sunny Dhingra and Dhingra Orthodontics and Kevin Day Construction and his crew also contributed money or work on the project.
“Bryce Hill gave us a great price on the concrete,” McLeod added.
“Everything came together perfectly,” Erin Kegley said. “Noah did an amazing job; he’s an amazing, amazing boy.”
Bonita Heeg, Executive Director Of Springfield Rotary Services to People With Disabilities, said, “The importance of the project is inclusion. All the children need to play together. That inclusion is very important for us.”
Erin Kegley said with the money that was leftover from the fundraising effort, she’s buying sensory equipment to be installed at the playground — including a sensory drum the children can use for musical interaction.
The project was completed in late June, so the students haven’t seen the playground improvements yet — something they will get to do when school starts Aug. 20.
“This is going to be an amazing thing to see how (the children) all play together,” Erin Kegley said.
McLeod indicated the finishing touch — a plaque for the playground project — is being made now.
Heeg was very impressed with McLeod, now a ninth-grader.
“He’s kind-hearted and yet strong,” she said. “He’s persevering.”
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