Lawrence fifth-graders draw up plan to install or repair handicapped accessible curb cuts and ramps.
By: Lea Kahn
It’s a common sight to see Jaggar DeMarco rolling down the Lawrence Intermediate School hallway in his motorized wheelchair, accompanying his classmates to the library or to art and music classes.
But keeping up with his classmates on trips outside for recess is a little more challenging for the 11-year-old student. The fifth-graders can dash up the steps to the playground, but Jaggar must follow a circuitous path out into the loop road and up the driveway to the play area.
That may change, if Jaggar and his classmates in Kristyn Sirhal’s fifth-grade class get their way. The children studied the sidewalks around the school and have drawn up a plan to locate handicapped accessible curb cuts for Jaggar and others who may follow him.
The students were inspired to devise the plan which they may present to the township Board of Education’s Resources Committee following a presentation by a group of Santa Ana, Calif., elementary school students at a schoolwide assembly last month, said LIS Assistant Principal Andrew Zuckerman.
The Pio Pico Elementary School students told their LIS counterparts about a study they conducted of the conditions at an intersection near their school, Mr. Zuckerman said. They proved to Santa Ana city officials that a traffic light was needed, he said. They were invited to visit LIS by Superintendent of Schools Max Riley, after he met the class and their teacher at a conference.
LIS students are encouraged to take on projects, and the assembly inspired her class to take on this project to help Jaggar, Ms. Sirhal said. The students discovered that there are curb cuts on the sidewalks around the school, but not always in the most convenient locations, she said.
"Some ramps are torn up or impossible to get to," Jaggar said. "This is completely unacceptable. Every ramp should be useable and there should be one every certain distance. There is really not a safe way to get to the playground at recess. The ramp to the playground has a curb and it is steep. It is hard to get up and down to play."
Several of Jaggar’s classmates agreed that it’s a good idea to make sure there are enough curb cuts and that they are placed in the right locations. They said they learned about the federal Americans With Disabilities Act, which sets standards for curb cuts and other measures to help the disabled.
"We learned how wide a curb cut needs to be," said 11-year-old Laura Walker. "We measured the length and width of the curb cuts (that exist at the school). There is one curb cut that is muddy, and it’s the only way for Jaggar to get up to the playground."
Meanwhile, Mr. Zuckerman spoke to Ms. Sirhal’s class about the project. He also explained to the students the second question on Tuesday’s school board election ballot, which would money to make driveway improvements at LIS and other schools.
The students, meanwhile, are going to draw up plans to present to the school district’s architectural firm, identifying the locations where they think curb cuts are needed, Ms. Sirhal said. School Business Administrator Thomas Eldridge will pick up the plans and deliver them to architectural firm Spiezle and Associates, she said.
"This affected someone in our class," Ms. Sirhal said of the project. "It’s more real and more tangible than another project. It’s something we all have a stake in. We all go around with Jaggar. He’ll be here another year and it will benefit him."
In addition to Jaggar DeMarco, Ms. Sirhal’s class includes Samantha Birabaharan, Robert Brackett, Alexis Cintron, Dante DeLucia, Kyle Fecak, Timothy Fitzgerald, Danielle Funari, Brianna Gladwell and Nataliya Kindiy.
The class also includes Mark Manalo, Zachery Martynuik, Cassandra Metz, Alexander Najem, Oscar Quiroz, Joseph Reynolds, Samantha Rivera, Ilyssa Rodriquez, Sam Sciarra, Neal Segall, Lauren Szolomayer, Laura Walker and Jon Yoskin.

