‘Thoughtfully & Intentionally Designed’: Rise Adds Creative Spaces for Students

The Rise Center for Success is thrilled to incorporate two major updates to high-trafficked areas at campus. The wiggle room and outdoor playground will look completely different by the end of 2025.

These two updated facilities will provide students with an opportunity to further thrive in school. While the current wiggle room and playground have been key to providing success for students, the Rise Center for Success strives to continue offering students with state-of-the-art equipment and opportunities. These two major projects will positively serve current and future students for years to come.

“The Rise Center for Success is beyond excited to bring these transformative updates to our campus,” Executive Director Dr. Matt Slattery said. “The revitalized Wiggle Room and Outdoor Learning Complex will be game-changers for our students, providing cutting-edge spaces for movement, exploration and growth. These projects reflect our commitment to creating dynamic environments where every student can thrive and experience joy in learning.”

WIGGLE ROOM

The wiggle room is meant to be a proactive approach toward sensory experiences so students can regulate their behavior in the classroom. Occupational Therapist Lisa Briscoe spearheaded the project to revitalize the current room.

“Our current wiggle room has really been piecemealed together. A trampoline here, a swing there and some toys, but there’s really nothing cohesive that pulls it all together. The equipment could use a revamp as well,” Briscoe said. “We put together a plan for one cohesive piece of equipment.”

The updated equipment was designed with climbing monkey bars, a zipline, swing and a crash pit. The structure will be two levels to give students the chance to practice going up and down stairs. There will also be a slide for students to descend from the structure.

“It’s going to look fantastic, but it’s also going to be super fun for the kids because there’s multiple different activities they can do while in the room,” Briscoe said.

The wiggle room provides students with a fun space to move to later help them focus.

“In order for brain development, students need whole body movements. They need multiple different activities that challenge their balance, core strength and hand strength,”
Briscoe said. “All of those things lead to improved fine motor skills, which are important for academic work.”

The wiggle room is designed to accommodate students ages five to 12 and is anticipated to be ready by the end of this spring.

OUTDOOR LEARNING COMPLEX

The Outdoor Learning Complex will be a three-part functional space to accommodate students of all ages and promote play in nature. Teacher Ashley Brown and Speech Language Pathologist Nichole Strong kick-started the project to modernize the current playground into an outdoor space for students of all ages and abilities to enjoy.

“Twenty years ago, when the playground was designed, it did wonders and served our students well, but it’s become outdated and doesn’t fit our current population as much,”
Strong said. “This new space will better serve our students.”

The committee wanted a sensory experience which promoted lifelong recreation and offered a comfortable place to gather. They also wanted the complex to function for the
entire student population, which is ages five to 21. In order to accomplish this goal, the complex will have three sections. The elementary-aged students will continue to have a playground. There will be a basketball court and covered pavilion in one section. The final section will have a track with games and activities geared toward older students.

“Play is education, and education is play,” Physical Therapist Liz Theeman said. “We look at this as more than a playground, but a space for students to continue learning.”

A big addition to the complex will be communication boards for students who are nonverbal or students that can’t express what they want with their peers and staff while on the playground. The complex will feature communication boards around the area, as well as at certain points in the playground.

For example, on the slides, there might be a board with communications for a solo ride or a push down. The playground will be a cohesive center with swings, foam flooring and fencing to serve elementary ages. There will be wheelchair accessible swings for students, as well as a ramp system to navigate the levels of the playground. Ramps also aid students that walk but have gait challenges. Everything on the playground is functionally linked, and the committee and designers thought a lot about how children move to be reflected in the playscape.

“This was thoughtfully and intentionally designed,” Theeman said. “We really thought about our students. We thought about newer playgrounds we’ve taken children to ourselves to see what plays well and what doesn’t.”

This redesign promotes student independence on the equipment, which helps develop gross motor development and social development.

“We all know the need for sensory experiences doesn’t end at fifth grade, and when you talk about having students that are 16 to 21, a wiggle room isn’t going to provide the swinging or sensory they need,” Brown said. “We wanted to give them a spot that they could recreate later in their life. If they get used to walking the track or riding a bike here, then they can walk or ride on the track somewhere else. That’s a much more portable skill for them.”

In the center of the track, there will also be permeant lawn games, such as cornhole and soccer. The hope is for students to broaden their exposure to what activities they can do
outside. The pavilion will also serve as a place for teachers to take a class outside, to have Circle, or to enjoy a snack on the picnic tables.

“The playground has been well loved, and the kids have loved playing on it. But this will be a great opportunity to broaden their horizons and expose them to a new way of play,”  Brown said.

The projected date for completion of the Outdoor Learning Complex is this fall.