Thanks to the donation of a new shade structure by Rock Creek Vietnam Veterans, students at Sisu, Integrated Early Learning can now enjoy time outside more safely.
Sisu is a Quality Rated and SACS/Cognia accredited school that serves children from six weeks to six years old in an integrated classroom environment. Part of these accreditations and the school’s curriculum require children to spend time outside each day, but according to a press release from Sisu, too much direct sunlight can trigger adverse reactions in some special needs students. To combat this, the school’s governance requires the school to have a certain amount of space dedicated to shade.
During the summer, Rock Creek Vietnam Veterans met with Sisu Executive Director Jamie Reynolds and toured the school to see what they could do to help the school and students. They determined that donating and installing a shade structure in the school’s Outdoor Learning Center would benefit students the most, especially with the encouragement of outdoor time and social distancing due to COVID-19.
“The group of veterans was very involved with the process and worked with us to make sure everything was the proper size and the placement of the structure was safe and childcare compliant,” Reynolds said in the release.
The shade structure, made by Creative Shade Solutions, is now up after six months of planning and work. According to Reynolds, the initiative was a community effort.
“Kipper Tool and M&R Rentals helped by providing a forklift and operator for the delivery of the structure. Our community partner Carroll Daniel Construction donated their time and talents to help us piece it together,” Reynolds said. “We are so grateful for the dedication of these neighbors and community partners to our mission of serving children. We definitely count this as a silver lining during the pandemic—new friends and a new shade structure have created great opportunities for our students.”
Sisu is planning to hold a celebratory breakfast under the shade structure on March 24 at 10 a.m. For more details on the breakfast or information about Sisu, contact Jamie Reynolds at 770-535-8372 or [email protected].
