Unit 50 purchases new playground equipment for Teutopolis Grade School

Nick Taylor, Effingham Daily News, Ill.
Updated ·3 min read

Feb. 13—Teutopolis Unit 50 and the Teutopolis Education Foundation are working together to renovate the two playgrounds at Teutopolis Grade School as the district continues to see its student population increase, especially at lower grade levels.

According to Superintendent Matthew Sturgeon, the two new pieces of playground equipment the Unit 50 Board voted to purchase during its meeting Monday are being paid for with a $32,000 "mega grant" from the Teutopolis Education Foundation. The district will pay for the cost of installing the equipment.

"One is for the east playground, used by preschool-grade 2, and the other piece of equipment is for the south playground, used by grades 3-6," Sturgeon said in an interview Tuesday. "The Education Foundation is very supportive of our students and of our staff and the district's efforts to continue to have the best experiences possible for our community, and we're just so appreciative of them and everything they do to support us."

Sturgeon said students will be able to use the two new "multi-faceted" pieces of equipment for a variety of activities.

"It will include slides, rock walls, climbing apparatuses and other age appropriate pieces for play," Sturgeon said. "It's not dissimilar to what you would really see at one of our parks."

At the grade school's south playground, the district plans to remove a couple of old pieces of equipment, including some monkey bars, and replace them with one of the new pieces of equipment.

There is already similar playground equipment on the school's east and south playgrounds, but the district hopes that adding one of the new pieces of equipment to the east playground will make it easier for more children to play there.

"We have upwards of 200 students on that playground at any given time, so having another piece of large equipment will be great for students to interact and play and show their creativity and imagination," Sturgeon said.

Plans for the east playground also include the addition of a concrete sidewalk to make it more accessible, the relocation of two awnings to nearby tennis courts, and the removal of an existing plastic barrier.

"And we're also going to install some drain tile through and around the playground," Sturgeon said.

Sturgeon said the district will move forward with the instillation of the new equipment and other work at the school's east playground this summer, and it plans to hold a ribbon cutting or some other type of grand opening event in conjunction with the Teutopolis Education Foundation for the playground renovations in August, at which time the district expects the project to be complete.

"We are grateful for the Teutopolis Education Foundation partnership and the generous financial contributions of our community to support this program and our students, staff and schools," Sturgeon said in an email. "With their financial support we can continue to execute the creative ideals of our staff and encourage the best in our students for years to come."

"On behalf of the TEF board, we are thrilled to be able to support the Grade School play ground renovation project," said Matt Repking, president of the Teutopolis Education Foundation. "Over the past 25 years the Foundation has supported technology improvements, equipment upgrades, curriculum enhancement tools, and much more. The Foundation seeks to generate these funds through events like our annual Spaghetti Supper as well as one-time, recurring, and memorial donations from individuals and businesses who also wish to support and grow the quality of education at Teutopolis Unit 50 schools."

Nick Taylor can be reached at nick.taylor@effinghamdailynews.com or by phone at 618-510-9226 or 217-347-7151 ext. 300132.