Students in Oak Hill Academy’s Running Club no longer spend mornings jogging in wet grass and mud thanks to completion of a rubber track for the field adjacent to the campus. The opening of the ADA-compliant track for walking and running, which also aids students’ tactile and proprioceptive senses, signifies completion of Phase 1 of The Sensory Integration Learning Garden at Oak Hill Academy. The unique project provides sound, movement and visual stimuli within the recreational areas and outdoor classrooms. Students, faculty and donors attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony on April 10, for the $550,000 project. Phase 2 is scheduled for completion in December 2015.
“Children with learning differences thrive in a multi-sensory environment,” said Pam Quarterman, Executive Director of Oak Hill Academy. “Every child needs to spend time in nature, but for learning different children, time spent outside can be the difference between a successful school day and a frustrating one.”
Stimulating the Senses
The Learning Garden was designed in collaboration with sensory integration and motor skills expert, Jennifer Suggs. The activity-rich environment will stimulate all the senses – including the vestibular and proprioceptive sensory systems, which deal with movement and awareness of where bodies are in space. Landscape colors and garden art appeal to the visual system. Herbs and grasses either stimulate or calm olfactory systems. Auditory components include a xylophone station, play tube area and nature sounds. The garden’s edible plants, fresh eggs and herbs arouse the gustatory system. And the rubber track and textured plants stimulate the tactile system.
“Input into these systems helps students to regroup and reorganize,” said Suggs, MOTR, SIPT, OTR, and owner of Suggs Pediatric Outpatient Therapy Services (S.P.O.T.S.), which has a sensory motor gym satellite office on the Oak Hill Academy campus. “The right amount of input into these systems leads to functional movement patterns, better focus and maximized learning potential.”
Forward-thinking Donors Embrace Unique Project
“We’ve had tremendous support from our families, faculty, numerous foundations, corporations and friends of the school,” said Anna Urban, Development Director for Oak Hill Academy. “Phase 1 was completely funded through donations, and a majority of components in Phase 2 have been fully funded.”
The following generous donors have made significant commitments to The Learning Garden: The Hillcrest Foundation, Bright Horizons Foundation for Children, Diane and Robert Frank, The Jalonick Family Memorial Fund of The Dallas Foundation in Memory of Janet Jalonick Webb, Bella Firma, Sally and Barney Young, Laura and Rick Lear, The McGinnis and McAllister families, Scott + Reid with Michael Garcia, Patty and David Miller, Brian Loncar & Associates, ISN Software, Horace C. Cabe Foundation, The Westerman Foundation and The Real Estate Council Foundation.
Oak Hill Academy’s mission is to provide specialized education for students, PreK through 12th grade, who exhibit or at risk for learning differences and/or social challenges. The school is located at 9407 Midway Road, Dallas, TX 75220. For more information about The Sensory Integration Learning Garden at Oak Hill Academy, call Anna Urban at (214) 353-8804 or email aurban@oakhillacademy.org.