As the educational community works together to provide the best opportunities for children in the United States, it’s important to keep accessibility a primary topic of the conversation.
Children, teens, and young adults of all abilities deserve safe and easy access throughout their school and university campuses. That’s why we’ve come up with a few ways that schools can utilize a commercial-grade aluminum ramp for safe access on school grounds.
Portable Classrooms
As school districts grow, portable classrooms are often used during that in-between stage of a building expansion. These classrooms almost always have an elevated entry which requires a small set of stairs or a ramp in order to reach the doorway. If a ramp is not in place, there is not a safe, ADA-compliant way for students and faculty to enter the classroom. An all-aluminum, maintenance-free ramp from EZ-ACCESS is an easy way to eliminate this issue. The PATHWAY® HD Code Compliant Modular Access System is a great solution that offers ease of access for individuals of all abilities.
Building Entrances
We often see properties that were built before the Americans of Disabilities Act was passed in 1990 without accessible entrances. While a long set of stairs leading up to the entrance may look sharp, there still needs to be a ramp in place to allow students with mobility challenges a safe way to get in and out of the building. The ADA does not specifically require the main entrance of a building to be wheelchair accessible, but it does require a public building to have at least one accessible entrance that is reasonably accommodating. That means every single building on a university campus must have at least one accessible entrance. An aluminum ramp is typically the easiest to install to ensure ADA compliance because it will come pre-assembled and can be installed in a matter of hours.
Playgrounds
Every child deserves the opportunity to play as freely as they wish at recess. It’s good for kids to take a break during the day and get some fresh air, but are the playgrounds at your school as accessible as they should be? A series of ramps that access different levels of the playground is a great way to include children with mobility equipment.
Many playgrounds also have a wood chip area so students have a place to play that isn’t the unforgiving concrete. Make sure that there is either a ramp over the wood chips for students with wheelchairs or a flat path through the play area so everyone can join in on the fun.