Waugh Chapel Moves Closer to New Playground

Kathy Powers has very few complaints about Waugh Chapel Elementary, except that her son has no place to play.

So while taking on other duties as vice president of the school's PTA, Powers has helped lead an aggressive fundraising effort for a new playground, and is inching steadily toward that goal.

Over the last two years, the Waugh Chapel PTA has raised more than $46,000 toward the new playground, and now has just $20,000 more to go.

"We want to encourage play for health and fitness," Powers said this past weekend, as she worked at a fundraising bake sale at the Gambrills Fall Festival. "We're really, really pushing hard and we feel like it's going to be a reality. It's going to happen."

The need for a new playground came after Anne Arundel County Public Schools removed the previous playground, which was built with the school in 1967 and no longer deemed safe.

"It was like, 'wow, now we have nothing,'" said current PTA President Amy Holloway. "I was really disenchanted with that."

Some money for a playground to accommodate the youngest students could come later this year as part of the construction of the new kindergarten wing at Waugh Chapel. But there is no money in the school budget for a playground for all students. To complicate matters, the PTA is required to seek competing bids from contractors approved by the county school system. (There are only two.)

The proposed new playground would feature three different "pods" featuring four slides, two bridges and climbing equipment.

The money collected by the PTA has come from a variety of sources, from private and corporate donations to creative fundraisers. More than $3,000 came from a holiday fair. Another $9,000 came from a summer reading program. There have been pajama parties and dances. Thousands of dollars were raised in the spring from "buy a brick" and "buy a bench" programs that were also tied to a broad beautification effort at the school. 

Earlier this month, the Anne Arundel County School Board honored Powers as "Volunteer of the Month" for September, citing her commitment to the playground effort and other work with teachers and students.