COEUR d'ALENE — Nate Bullock and his Fernan STEM Academy classmates were nervous before their first meeting last fall with the special needs students enrolled in the school’s Life Skills program.

Little did they know, the fifth-grade advanced learning students were about to embark with their new school buddies on a journey of empathy and friendship that would also launch a project that will affect Fernan students for generations to come.

“He was kind of shy and only wanted to talk about motorcycles and pirates,” Nate said of his first interaction with his buddy. “So we talked about those things and I got to know him better. It felt really good.”

After the first meeting, Pam Kiefer, who has instructed the fifth-graders since they were in third grade, told The Press the initial nervousness and fear turned into a resounding chorus of “When are we going again?”

Fernan STEM Academy is the only school in the Coeur d’Alene School District with an elementary Life Skills program, Keifer said, and there are 34 students in the program — as well as an additional 54 students on individual education plans. Kiefer wanted her students to learn empathy, so she pursued and obtained a grant through The Excel Foundation that provided books, Chromebooks and supplies used during a year-long disability awareness unit.

“Each and every meeting, it’s so neat to see the faces of both groups of children just light up,” Kiefer said. “It has helped them walk in their shoes.”

When Kiefer’s class was approached by one of the Life Skills teachers about their buddies lacking accessibility to the playground, the students immediately stepped up and said they would do something about it. With that simple statement, the “Playground for All Project” was launched.

“We want them to be able to play with us everywhere,” Gage Henson said.

“It’ll be there for years to come,” Kyle Bridge added. “It’s not just for special needs kids, it’s for us to interact and play with them too.”

‘THEY’RE DOERS’

Their response did not come as a surprise to Kiefer, who said the class is made up of truly special individuals.

“They’re doers,” Kiefer said. “They know they can make a difference and that it really doesn’t take that much effort.”

Kiefer was quickly able to give several examples of how the youngsters in her class made a difference before embarking on the playground project. In third grade, she said the class learned about manatees through reading a nonfiction piece about the threatened species of aquatic herbivores.

Their response? They adopted a manatee.

The following year, the class read a book about the clean water crisis in Africa. Kiefer said she initially planned on it being a lesson that lasted a day or two.

“But then Nate approached me and said ‘What are we going to do about this?’” she said. “That resulted in the class raising $500 for the The Water Project.”

Kiefer’s students have applied the same passion and enthusiasm to their disability awareness unit. Throughout the year, they have participated in simulation activities to better put themselves in the shoes of someone with special needs and have put on a puppet show to encourage disability awareness in their peers.

They’ve also formed sincere bonds with their buddies. One student, Eddie Garner, told The Press his buddy uses an iPad to talk, and that he has had to exercise patience while communicating with him because it takes the Life Skills student a while to spell out the words.

“He’s really, really fun,” Eddie added. “He just can’t talk, and that’s really all that’s different.”

Another student, Aurora Pipoly, said she was sympathetic toward her buddy during their initial meetings.

“But, through our interactions, I stopped being sympathetic and developed empathy, which is when you actually feel what they’re feeling,” Aurora said.

‘HEARTS THE SIZE OF TEXAS’

The friendships, and a strong desire to have the special needs children join for activities during recess, have served as fuel for the students as they tackle the “Playground for All Project.” This year they’ve prepared professional presentations, contacted potential sponsors and worked alongside Jon Mueller, the senior landscape architect at Architects West, to develop designs and cost models.

“They couldn’t have gotten this far without Mr. Mueller,” Kiefer said.

Mueller has volunteered an hour of his time each Wednesday to work with Kiefer’s class. He told The Press his favorite part of the project has been exposing the fifth-graders to the design process, and watching them rise to the challenge.

“These kids have hearts as big as Texas and no shortage of ideas,” Mueller added. “They’re sharp as tacks, they listen, and then they get after it.”

Under Mueller’s guidance, the students have designed a “dream playground” that will provide opportunities for every student at the school to interact with each other. If they are successful in raising the approximately $50,000 needed to complete the project, the new playground will feature: an asphalt, wheelchair-accessible pathway that accommodates two wheelchairs, pull-out areas along the pathway housing activities such as marimba instruments, a wheelchair swing, and an interactive mini-theater.

“These kids are our future and we are in really good hands,” Mueller said Wednesday while watching the students walk the area of the playground where the construction will take place.

Kiefer said her students’ goal is to complete construction this summer so they can hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new playground on the first day of school.

“Next year the Life Skills kids will be able to access the playground and have more fun at recess,” said a confident Zach Johnson.

The class has already received $9,000 in grant money, and a $1,000 donation from Lake City Church.

Those interested in donating can go to any Umpqua Bank and ask to donate to the Fernan STEM Academy Playground for All, or make a check out to Fernan PTA with ‘Playground For All’ as the subject and send it to the school at 520 21st St., Coeur d’Alene, 83814.

“They are making a lasting impact and it’s going to be really cool,” Kiefer said. “This will be something they did that will always be here and that really empowers them.”