A $2,500 grant from the Plainville Community Fund at Main Street Community Foundation will support the new “Go Kid Go” program, a collaborative initiative to help students with special needs in Plainville schools, according to Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Maureen Brummett.
The Go Kid Go program began last winter as an outgrowth of the “Go Baby Go” program, now in its fourth year, that brings together faculty and staff from Central Connecticut State University, Plainville High School and the Middle School of Plainville each year to design and modify battery powered toy cars for toddlers with special needs. At last year’s Go Baby Go event, a dialogue began about how the group could also assist older students with special needs in Plainville schools by making custom modifications to equipment that they use in order to make their lives more comfortable and workable and increase the student’s independence. From that initial conversation, the Go Kid Go team was formed and work began in the spring to support Plainville High School sophomore Alexis (Lexi) Charbonneau, who uses a motorized wheel chair. The group initially met with Lexi and her mother, Deborah Zinzalet to discuss the types of supports that would help her in her wheelchair each day. The project team initially built a custom desk for Lexi’s use at school, and is currently working on some adaptations to her wheel chair to allow her to access her school materials more easily throughout the day and thus increase her independence.
“Thanks to the generous financial support of the Plainville Community Fund, as well as additional funding provided by Jacob’s Journey and the Central C.A.R.E.S. Club at CCSU, we are able to move forward with the Go Kid Go program, assisting Lexi and future students with special needs in the Plainville school system,” explained Director of Community Relations, Lynn Davis. “We are so fortunate to continue our partnership and collaboration with CCSU faculty and students from the Technology and Engineering Education, and Special Education Interventions Departments, together with Plainville High School Technology and Engineering Education faculty members David Gaignard and Mark Chase, as well as members of the district’s Special Education Department, to bring this program to fruition as an outgrowth of our very successful Go Baby Go program. We look forward to continuing our work together to support Plainville students with special needs through this new Go Kid Go program!”
“I am very proud of the work our staff is doing with both Go Baby Go and Go Kid Go. Together with CCSU and generous donors, we are really making a difference in the lives of our students by increasing their independence,” said Superintendent Brummett.