CREST Playground Project Needs Your Help!

“All students can achieve regardless of their disability!”

The Citrus Resources for Exceptional Student Transition (commonly known as CREST) is a center school for students with severe disabilities and is part of the Citrus County School District.  Children come from all over the county to attend CREST.  The mission of CREST is to provide an enriching special day school environment in which all students achieve their potential. By addressing each students’ unique educational needs, they facilitate successful integration into the community. The belief is that all students can achieve regardless of their disability. Innovative programs, instruction, and curriculum are defining components of CREST.

The student population at CREST ranges from birth to age twenty-two years of age. Students attending CREST are classified as having an Intellectual Disability (InD) or an Emotional Behavioral Disability (EBD). Under those two classifications are students with physical disabilities, autism, conduct disorder, compulsive disabilities, speech and language disabilities and more.

What does “61 – 100 – 12” mean at CREST?

The students at CREST have significant disabilities so much so that they find it challenging to function in a regular school setting. Sixty- one percent (61%) of CREST students are on free or a reduced lunch plan.  A hundred percent (100%) of our students have some form of disability. Twelve percent (12%) of our population is in wheelchairs.

The current status of the CREST playground is not adequate to facilitate all the need of the broad spectrum of student population. Currently there is no wheelchair accessible equipment. An age appropriate safe area specifically designed to foster the physical development of our early childhood students is needed. There isn’t any fitness equipment to address the needs of our older and more physically active students. Many of the medically fragile students are hypersensitive to light and due to the lack of shaded areas, they are unable to enjoy an outdoor play area with their peers.

In Citrus County there are no playgrounds that serve the needs of children with disabilities, especially children in wheelchairs. It is CREST goal to offer a playground with equipment that will be accessible for all children with disabilities.

CREST would like to develop a playground that offer swings made to accommodate wheelchairs and ramps that will make play areas with sensory, music, and learning panels easily accessible as well.

Students in wheelchairs have shared that the playground is boring because they can only sit under a pavilion due to no ramps or sidewalks to get to anything else. Other students have said that they do not even want to go to the playground because they just sit there in their wheelchair with no place to go and nothing to play with. As for our ambulatory population, CREST aims to have up to date equipment to not only facilitate physical development but also to provide a safe environment to stimulate positive social interaction.

Many Local organizations that have contributed to the CREST Playground Project:

• American Legion
• Wal-Mart
• SunTrust Bank
• Crystal River Rotary Club
• Gulf to Lakes Pilot Club
• iH hhhjh Historical Kenwood Garden Club of St. Pete
• Lecanto High School Video Productions
• Lecanto High School Drama Club
• Citrus County Cruisers

HOW can you help?

When you would like to participate in volunteering at an upcoming Playground fundraiser or by opening your wallet and making a monetary contribution of any amount CREST needs your help.

Contact Kelly Daugherty at CREST School (352) 527-0303 ext. 6114 or by email DaughertyK@citrus.k12.fl.us

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