Summer break has ended, school is back in session and a hint of fall is finally in the air. Backpacks are coming home every day full of notices and flyers for fundraisers, events, clubs, sports and extracurricular activities. Field trips are happening and fall festival planning is well underway. However, for one local mother and PTO president something was missing.
Kayla Driver is currently in her second year of serving as president of the Central Elementary School PTO. Among the many things she says she has learned about the school since taking over the position, the one thing that stood out most to her is the fact that CES is the only elementary school in our district with a FMD unit for special needs students. This means that children from all over the county who are classified as FMD (functional mental disability) are all able to attend Central regardless of which school they live near.
With such a large population of special needs students, Driver realized there weren’t any events that the majority of this group of students could or would be able to attend and enjoy. She decided to have a trial run at the 2017 CES Fall Festival where she designated one specific area of the festival for these children that offered sensory friendly games and activities for them to participate in. It was a huge successes according to those who were involved.
Special education teacher Brooke Rudd explains, “Fall is a fun and festive time of year we all love to celebrate, but many events can be a bit overwhelming for this population.”
This year, Driver has received approval to launch a completely separate event. The VIP Fall Festival will take place Saturday, September 22 at Central Elementary School and invitations have been sent to every special needs student in the county and those with an IEP (individualized education plan). Driver says that all of the games, activities and events have been selected and planned with sensory issues, and other special considerations in mind. The festival will offer food and drinks, Sweet Cece’s, and a silent auction in addition to the games. Organizers had hoped to have inflatables as well, but rental prices they have been quoted have been out of their budget.
All of the proceeds from the event will be put toward purchasing special playground equipment at CES for these students, something Driver says is greatly needed.
“We have no playground equipment for these children. I just want to do absolutely everything in my power to get this for them. It’s all about them and they just really deserve it.” she explained. There are a variety of playground equipment options available that are tailored to special needs children but the price tag is currently out of reach for the school. Rudd further explained that the type of equipment they are hoping to purchase is created for students with physical exceptionalities or the students who may struggle in the area of social or sensory play.
If you would like to donate to this event, the silent auction or help in any way, they are very much still in need of assistance. You can also donate directly to the playground equipment funds by contacting Central Elementary at (270) 527-0796
Pictured below are several of the VIP students who will be participating in the event.
Gavin Ross Mays
Wesley Hines
Arianna Burkeen
Matthew Bristow
Dixie Mecke
(name withheld at parents request)