The new playground at Pembroke School is open for play. The nearly $270,000 project took more than a year of fundraising and planning. 

School officials held a ribbon cutting at the playground yesterday evening.  Pembroke principal Dr. Sharon Epple says making the playscape a reality took a lot of effort, from many people.  She noted that the goal of this playscape was to create a more accessible playground that would allow all students to fully enjoy the use of each piece of equipment, and also to get all the kids to play together.

Epple and Leigh Viviano, a former teacher at the school who is still involved with the project, spearheaded the project at an initial cost of $150,000. Issues with drainage nearly made the project cost-prohibitive. The City Council stepped up in August to help match the money the school had raised through fundraisers and donations.  She thanked all of the faculty, tutors and staff for their efforts collecting can tabs, bringing thousands of recyclables to the store to get the deposit money, and collecting donations at football games.

Viviano says the new playground is unique in that it was built with a special concern for students who are challenged navigating older equipment. Pembroke has been selected to serve a number of students with disabilities in the district and, therefore, has six classrooms, one at each grade level devoted to these students.

The mostly blue and yellow playground has several playscapes with ramps and ladders and a spinner. One of Viviano’s initial concerns was that children with disabilities weren’t able to navigate equipment that was too high or steep. Some students may be prone to seizures, so the anxiety of tackling a dangerous incline can lead to serious medical issues. Children in wheelchairs must also be considered. The new playground includes platforms that are wheelchair-accessible.

Board of Ed member Richard Jannelli he never gave a thought, with his children and grandchildren, about the needs of somebody else at a playground.  He says this taught him to look at things through a different lens, not just from his own perspective.

Area schools and businesses, including Scotland Elementary School in Ridgefield and Fairfield County Bank--$1,000 and $2,000, respectively--King Street Intermediate, Stadley Rough School, Park Avenue School and Danbury High, helped get the project started. Westside Middle School Academy donated $620.  A Pembroke parent, who owns Hat City Tattoo, held a fundraiser that brought in $10,000 in one day.  Max Spirits, Hummus & Pita Co., Basilico, Chick-fil-A, Papa John's, McDonald's, and Texas Roadhouse hosted fundraisers as well.  Viviano says many local companies also made donations.  They included Praxair, Cartus and Chuck's Steakhouse.  Nonprofits like the Kiwanis Club, Ridgefield Rotary and VFW Post 149 made donations too.  Girl Scouts from Broadview Middle School, Pembroke alum, made donations as well.  DPS Printing donated lawn signs about the project.  Goldstone Family Foundation was one of the biggest donors. 

Because there is no other accessible playground in the district – the closest being in Ridgefield’s Ballard Park and another in Brookfield – the playground will be open to anyone afterschool and on the weekends.