Stearns Elementary School – Accessible Track & Field Project

The “Stearns Elementary Accessible Track Project” will construct a new fully accessible 200m track and field facility with a safe rubber surfacing. The facility will replace the current 400m dirt track located at Stearns Elementary School by the summer of 2020. The track will include six running lanes that are 42-inches wide, providing the needed width to safely accommodate wheelchairs and other assistive devices. It will also include a high jump area, two long jump sand pits, 50m extension to create a 100m straight away and an ADA accessible path from the school directly to the track facility. The current track is a dirt trail and becomes very muddy from excessive amounts of foot traffic throughout the year, creating a safety hazard. Students still run and walk during every recess throughout the year and never complain about the muddy and unsafe conditions. However, students with disabilities are not able to adjust so easily to the rough conditions and are excluded from participating with the rest of the students, requiring them to use the gym or hallway area for most of their running and walking. Even with the physical barriers of our current facility, students with disabilities have still played a significant role in our school wide running and walking program. The school has logged more than 5,000 miles running and walking over the past year and a half as part of the Mighty Milers running program. The greatest part of this milestone is that students choose to log their miles before school and during their scheduled recess times only. The running program is not required for PE, it is just something students love to do! They feel a sense of accomplishment when they reach new mileage goals and receive incentives for their quality efforts. Providing a safe space for everyone to run and walk will allow for our programs to expand and grow and further instill the importance of lifetime physical activity within our students.