Two Seven Oaks Elementary School Global Magnet students, Ka'Ren Tate and Zhuri Smith, helped make their school's playground more inclusive after a persuasive writing  assignment turned into a real change. 

It all began when fourth-grade teacher, Jasmine Cohen, asked students to write persuasive letters. Ka'Ren and Zhuri chose to focus on making the playground more accessible for students with disabilities. 

When Prinicipal Angie Slatton read their letter, she took action. 

"Last year in of our fourth-grade classes was writing persuasive letters about playgrounds," Slatton said in the press release. "It was so heart-warming that out student leaders wanted to ensure that students with disabilities had inclusion experiences on our playgrounds so they came up with the idea of communication boards. As we were looking for ways to fund the project, we were very blessed to have a partnership with Trane Technologies. They have groups of volunteers called The Purple Team who donated and installed the boards for us."

Cohen said the project helped build connections among students with different learning needs and expressed how proud she was of her students. 

Kristie Jordan, a change agent for Trane Technologies, shared her gratitude for being part of the initiative. 

"I am deeply grateful  for Trane Technologies' committment to social responsibility and the Purple Team, who helped support the project," Jordan said. "These communication boards empower every child to express themselves and fully participate in play. This fosters inclusion, indepedence, and a sense of belonging, reflecting our leadership principle of serving others. We look foward to continuing our support of the Seven Oaks Elementary family and being welcomed in."

Both Ka'Ren and Zhuri shared that their goal was simple. They wanted every child to be able to enjoy recess. 

“My teacher asked who wants to write about the playground and how to make it better and I suggested we have a sign to help those kids with disabilities or don’t like to speak,” Zhuri said in the press release. 

 “It’s not fair for those with disabilities to just sit down and watch other people play and this was one way to help them play with us and not feel left out. When I saw the board out on the playground, I was so happy because I didn’t actually think it would happen,'' Ka'Ren added. 

Slatton said the project shows that when students advocate, change can happen. "I think it's important that students see the leadership in themselves and this gives them that opportunity, and to see that their voices matter."