Mayor Gary Christenson and Ward 5 City Councillor Barbara Murphy led City and School officials in celebrating the reopening of the refurbished Salemwood School playground, which has a new resilient safety surfacing and sensory play panels to engage students with differing learning needs. They were also joined by Superintendent of Schools Dr. Ligia Noriega-Murphy, Assistant Superintendent Emilys Peña, Salemwood School Principal Van Huynh, School Committee Member Adam Weldai, and Community Development Director Alex Pratt.
The project included removing the deteriorated mulch surfacing and installing a new resilient rubber safety surface and two new sensory play panels. Three additional play panels will be installed later this fall. The sensory play panels and the colorful surface design were chosen to enhance play for Salemwood students, especially children who are nob-verbal.
The project was initiated by Councillor Murphy who contacted Salemwood School officials to see if they had any projects for when the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding became available. The project is being administered by the City’s Office of Strategic Planning and Community Development and funded using CDBG funds and additional funds from Malden Public Schools.
Pictured (from left):
Assistant School Superintendent Emilys Peña, Ward 5 School Committee Member Adam Weldai, Ward 5 City Councillor Barbara Murphy, Mayor Gary Christenson, School Superintendent Dr. Ligia Noriega-Murphy, Community Development Director Alex Pratt and Salemwood School Principal Van Huynh