Sawtooth Elementary School Adaptive Playground project closer to becoming reality

TWIN FALLS, Idaho (KMVT/KSVT) — The current playground at Twin Falls’ Sawtooth Elementary is not accessible to all kids.

Six-year-old Zella Egan, a student at Sawtooth Elementary, is one of those kids directly affected. Zella is diagnosed with spastic diplegic cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair for mobility.

“I try not to make a huge deal; we’ve come up with ways for her to participate,” Sara Egan said. “That’s our biggest goal as a parent, to let her live a life that she doesn’t know any difference from what her friends are doing.

The idea first came from Avery Leonard, a friend of Zella’s who told her mom that they needed a new playground that Zella could play on.

“She simply said we need a new playground,” Kim Leonard said. “So we thought about it all night and the next morning went up to the little girl’s mom and said we’re building a new playground.”

After getting approval from the Twin Falls Education Foundation, the school district, and the Sawtooth PTO, a new inclusive playground is coming. The new playground is set to begin construction in July and will have a wheelchair ramp and accessible play equipment and be available for all children in Twin Falls.

“Sawtooth is a playground for our community,” Egan said. “I hope that others will see that benefit and hope it’s a hub for kids who want accessibility and want to experience those things that other kids do.”

The idea that started with just Sawtooth Elementary is now making its way around the Twin Falls School District, with Harrison Elementary as the next school in need of a new accessible playground.

“I’m just so proud of the community for coming together and making this happen at Sawtooth, and now we started and have a little of a nest egg for Harrison, but we need to continue that effort,” Eva Craner said. “We need to keep working and continue this momentum at all of our elementary schools.”

The district has matching funds available, so if anyone is passionate about donating, they can look to do that for the upcoming project.