Cooke School

Video features the inclusive playground at Cooke School in Northville Michigan.

[video: full view of a digifuse panel that reads hand in hand together we can! Inspired by the playful spirit of Katie and her friends. Butterfly shapes are make from children’s hand prints.]

[video: Adults and children in strollers ride the sway fun as the adults push from either side to make it gently rock back and forth. A boy and girl go down the roller slide in slow motion. A grandmother holds a baby on her lap as she swings on a swing. Close up of a young girl in a stroller next to the chimes play panel. A man grabs her hand to guide it across the chimes to make them move. Two boys swing side by side high above the camera under a shaded swing set. Fade to black.]

[video: Principal of Cooke school Mary Meldrum speaks to the camera.]

Mary: We service students with moderate to severe disabilities. Some of our students Have emotional impairments as well as cognitive impairments.

Mary voiceover: And then we have a large population of students who have a cognitive impairment as well as physical impairment, so we have a lot of students who are in a wheelchair. Which is one of the reasons that we made sure that everything was accessible.

[video: a young boy hops towards the camera on an accessible ramp. He walks closely up to the camera and looks into the lens. Young boy spins the color splash panel. He lifts his arms above his shoulders and waves his hands with joy. Man pushes a young girl in a stroller down the playground side walk. He turns and continues to push the young girl up the accessible playground ramp. He stops her at the chimes panel and kneels down next to her. Camera back to Mary speaking to the camera.]

Mary: Well prior to the playground we really didn't have a place for our students to go outside and play.

Mary voiceover: Since we've installed the playground this it's full all the time like students are able to do physical therapy out here, work on gross motor skills developing their sensory systems and we're able to use it as a teaching tool as well as a recreational tool.

[video: camera focuses on a young boy in a stroller and group of adults as they rock back and forth on the sway fun. A young boy shoots down the roller slide. A girl slowly walks to spin the Omni spinner as a group of kids ride. Camera switch to a large group of parents and kids riding on the sway fun. A boy spins slowly on the stand-up spinner. A boy sits on the edge of the Omni spinner waving his hands back and forth. A close up of a girl in a stroller with a woman kneeling down next to her at the chime panel. Camera angle switches to the same side as the young girl and women playing with the chime panel. The girl extends her hand out to play the chimes on the panel. Camera switches to the back side of the panel as the girl can be seen through the chimes and playing them. Camera back to Mary speaking to the camera.]

Mary: A lot of our occupational therapists and physical therapists can use the playground.

Mary voiceover: Either you know stepping skills or the climbing of stairs managing uneven terrain just developing some of the gross motor skills that they need assistance with.

[video: a girl’s feet in flip flops steps through the holes in the cascade climber. Two girls run to the stairs of the playground and rush up them together. Two boys go down the roller slide. A boy spins himself on the stand-up spinner as a group of adults and two children ride the sway fun. Camera back to Mary speaking to the camera.]

[video: young girl in glasses speaks to the camera.

Young girl with glasses: I liked the spinning chair over there.

Young girl with glasses voiceover: Where you can just sit in it and spin.

[video: a girl spins herself in a saddle seat spinner. Camera back to young girl speaking to the camera.]

Young girl with glasses: I usually just fall over when I'm done.

[video: young boy speaks to the camera.]

Young boy: I really like the spin thing.

[video: a girl runs around to push the omni spinner as a group of children ride. Camera switch to young girl speaking to the camera.]

Young girl: My favorite thing about this park is this little bumpy slide.

[video: two boys slide down the roller slide side by side. Camera switches to young boy in an orange shirt.]

Young boy 2: My favorite thing about the playground is the spinning color wheel.

[video: a boy spins the color wheel panel. Camera switch to the side of a swing set for several kids swing together. A view across the playgrounds shows a group of adults and children enjoying the sway fun while a girl spins herself on the stand-up spinner by herself. Camera close up of sway fun as the group continues to ride. Close up over a young boys shoulder as he spins a steering well on a railing. Young girl slowly walks to push the Omni spin with her friends riding. A young girl sitting in a stroller holds out her hand to the man standing next to her. They hold hands. A man and women hold the young girl’s hands sitting in the stroller below the custom digifuse sign on the playground. A photographer takes the picture of the man and women standing next to the girl in the stroller underneath the custom digifuse Hand in Hand Together We Can! panel. Fade to black, text appears on screen that reads with the help of Katie and her friends, the playground at Cooke School strives to be a place where people of all abilities can come together and play. Text fades away, landscape structure logo fades in.]