Teacher Stories: Stephanie Towns, Second Grade Special Education at Indiana Avenue School #18, Woodbridge Township, New Jersey
So, this year I’ve been able to lead a project. This is only my second year teaching, so once I got placed here, I was seeing that there was a need for students with autism to have a space that could be specifically for them. We definitely require frequent breaks within our day. We do have one large playground in the front of our school, but this is a very large school, and it is not close to our classroom. Fortunately, the classroom that I’m in right now has a courtyard connected and it was really a blank canvas to do something with. I was able to connect with a non-profit foundation, and they issued me a grant to be able to do something with that space. And not only that space, but they also provided a fence for our current existing playground since that led to a main road.
When I partnered with the non-profit, it was really a blank canvas, and I got to create everything with my students in mind to meet their specific needs. It was really fun to create that specifically for them. We now have sensory swings, which are like little saucers they can sit in that gives them some self-regulation. With it being right off the classroom, on a nice day, we can do a little bit of work, and we get to take a 10 to 15 minute break outside to get off some of that energy and meet some of our sensory needs.
We also have a climbing dome, because we do have students who like to climb on things in the classroom, so it’s great to redirect them. Everything we are using in our courtyard is also a lesson. It’s not just academics, it’s also life skills-based things we do. A lot of social skills outside. We have a seesaw, so we get to have the kids interact with one another and teach those skills on how to do that. They also have a touch slide, and they can go over and play. I was really excited to create this space for them. And, you know, get to have those frequent breaks where it doesn’t feel like you’re just sitting at a desk and working all day.
This playground definitely fueled me even more in that I just wish that more people saw that children with autism, like my students, are not less capable, and not to pity them. They just communicate, learn, and experience things differently. This playground and everything that I do is in honor of them. This is just like a full circle moment for me because I went to this school as a kid. For me, this was where I knew that I wanted to be a teacher since I was a first-grade student in this school. It’s really nice to come in and be able to give back to the school that I went to.
Interview by Gregory Andrus
Portraits of the Jersey Shore
