The School Newspaper of Lawrence High School.

The Budget

The School Newspaper of Lawrence High School.

The Budget

The School Newspaper of Lawrence High School.

The Budget

New ramp makes school accessible to all students

Until this year, seven steps leading into the art hallway
posed a major obstacle for students in wheelchairs.
They had to use a lift that blocked most of the staircase
when it was being used and frequently broke down, forcing
students and paras to take long routes outside. Now, students
have access to a long ramp after a summer construction
project.
“The lift that was there before was very old and unpredictable.
Some days it would work. Some days it wouldn’t,”
Brad Page, head of the special education department, said.
“Sometimes it got stuck in the down position and only two
kids could get through at a time, which was really bad during
passing period. It was definitely necessary to get something
changed.”
Senior Taimee Tapedo regularly used the electric chair lift
last year.
“[I prefer] the ramp more, because it’s much faster than the
elevator,” Tapedo said. “It gets me to class faster.”
Kenny St. Pierre, a new paraprofessional, helps with
students in wheelchairs.
“I think it’s going well so far, I mean, I don’t have no
complaints or anything with the handicapped students,” St.
Pierre said. “It’s very useful, and it helps kids that are in the
wheelchair. It’s very accessible.”
Senior Maya Brinton has taken classes that required her to
go down the stairs.
“I personally like the ramp because last year there would
always be traffic because there would be the chair lift,” Brinton
said. “So it’s nice. It’s easier for them, and it’s also easier for
everyone else cause it takes less time getting places.”
The ramp, however, did have a negative impact on art
teacher, Sandra Groene. Groene lost about half the size of her
classroom due to the ramp installation.
“It’s pretty crowded,” Groene said. “It makes it a
little harder for the kids to get to their things. We are
up and around moving a lot more. I like to accommodate
the kids that want to take my class [but] my
kids have had to go to another class because there isn’t
enough room.”
While Groene can see a difference, her students
do not.
“They don’t know anything different,” Groene said.
“They know it’s crowded, but a lot of them weren’t here
last year, so they don’t know what they had before.”

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