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Indianapolis charter school raising money to replace old and unsafe playground

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — An Indianapolis charter school is hoping to raise money to replace what teachers are calling an old and unsafe playground.

Teachers at Southeast Neighborhood School of Excellence or SENSE said the condition of the playground is so bad it has been sitting empty for at least five years.

Students no longer use the playground, but instead they go somewhere else for recess.

“We don’t play here because this playground is all beat up and some pieces are broken,” said Hannah Newsome, who is a second grader at SENSE.

The mess at the playground is sad to see for students at SENSE. You can find graffiti, broken glass, and trash all over the playground. The swing set was missing and the slide was damaged.

“We want a new playground and we need to get $30,000,” said Newsome.

The charter school is hoping to meet the $30,000 goal by spring to replace the old playground.

24-Hour News 8 learned a nearby church got the playground after moving into the old IPS school and has given the charter school permission to build a new one.

“It’s actually very,very,very important because like if we don’t have a time to like have fun, we will probably like be stressed out during the whole day and it makes learning harder,” said Elena Newsome, who is a fourth grader at SENSE.

For many years, teachers said students have been going across the street for recess. They play on the blacktop of the church. Students said they look forward to the new one.

“A pool, the thing that you slide on and new swings,” said Samuel Newsome, who is in kindergarten at SENSE.

The new playground will be up to date with no pool. Teachers, like Shannon Martin said they want to encourage positive play time and show students they are valued.

“They need something they can look at and say wow, my community cares about me, my teachers care about me, my school cares about me and this is a place I can have fun and be safe as a kid,” said Martin, who is a second grade teacher at SENSE.

Students wrote letters and will send those letters out to companies in town asking for a donation. The charter school started a GoFundMe page and has since raised more than $800.

Click here if you would like to help.