Zanesville City Schools Unveils New Playground

ZANESVILLE, OH – Zanesville City Schools cut the ribbon on their new playground.

This new playground, located in between Zane Grey Elementary and Zane Grey Intermediate Schools, is an all inclusive playground so kids with disabilities are still able to have fun at recess.

Clay Lawyer, the Associate Principal at Zane Grey Intermediate School, says they purchased the playground equipment with remaining ESSR funds. They also added a walking trail for students around the playground thanks to a donation from the J.W. and M.H. Straker Charitable Foundation

“We opened this officially in the spring, so students were able to start playing on it, but we really wanted to send out kind of a notice to the community of what we have going on here at Zane Grey,” Lawyer explained. “It’s not just a school space but a community space and we want to make sure people come down here, use it, love it.”

The playground features sensory areas, music making areas, as well as a merry-go-round that has enough space to fit a wheelchair.

Megan Weingart, the Principal at Zane Grey Elementary School, says she’s so excited to see her students’ faces on the first day of school, as some students get to play like they never have before.

“I think that it’s just going to make them so happy,” Weingart said. “I think they are going to have feelings like they haven’t had before. I mean when you’re actually able to get up on a big toy that you hadn’t been able to get up on before or be able to get on a merry-go-round and play with friends that you haven’t been able to play with before, those are feelings students haven’t been able to feel before, so I think that those are experiences that they aren’t ever to able to have and they’re going to have an opportunity to have those here.”

The playground will be open for the community to use after school hours.