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Dzantik'i Heeni playground opens to public
- Ellie Ruel
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
Ribbon-cutting ceremony precedes the first day of school for 1st-12th grade
By Ellie Ruel
Juneau Independent
Over 100 children eagerly waited for the ribbon across the entrance to a new playground on the Dzantik'i Heeni campus in Lemon Creek to be snipped during an opening ceremony on Wednesday.
The Dzantik'i Heeni campus is a former middle school that now houses Yaaḵoosgé Daakahídi High School, Montessori Borealis and Juneau Community Charter School due to consolidation efforts to solve a budget crisis in 2024. It was the only school in Juneau with elementary-aged students lacking a playground.
“This is kind of picking up the debris field from the consolidation where we moved different programs into this building,” said Juneau Board of Education President Britteny Cioni-Haywood. “Elementary schools, by state law and regulations, are supposed to have a playground.”
Before the playground was constructed only one smaller park, Sigoowu Ye on Pine St, was available to families in Lemon Creek. That site was recently updated with new equipment and reopened earlier this month.
“This playground's impact reaches further than just these schools and these students,” Cioni-Haywood said. “For a long time this area, our community, has not really had a large playground to gather in; this will help fill that gap. On evenings and weekends we hope to see this serve Lemon Creek families with a space for neighbors, siblings, grandparents to come together and have a little bit of fun on the equipment. A school is always stronger when it’s woven into the life of its community.”
Karen Levasseur brought her two children, Rose and Luc, to see the playground before school started. Both go to Montessori Borealis, and Levasseur works in the building.
“It’s so exciting to actually see them,” Levasseur said. “They've been very creative with their play, but to actually have something where they can run around and climb.”
She said her son hopes to see monkey bars added in the future.
Currently, the playground is split into two sides divided by age group. The area for 2- to- 5-year-olds is fenced off, and the equipment for 5- to 12-year-olds features a communication board, wide slide and climbing areas.
One element that hasn’t been installed yet is personalized bricks from a “Buy A Brick” fundraiser for the playground. Among those are four purchased by a former school board member criticizing city leaders.
According to JSD Director of Operations Kristy Germain, the bricks will be installed this fall by students enrolled in the Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé house build program.
“It's a nice starter project for them to start the year,” she said.
Harmony Rushton teaches second and third grade at Juneau Community Charter School. She said her students are excited for the new space.
“I think it's totally gonna just open up their choice of activity,” she said. “They'll be able to interact with each other in a different way.”
Parent and volunteer Cindy Norbryhn said she was so excited to see the playground opened she drove by every day. Previously the students had “mud and ice” as a play surface.
“We’re truly grateful,” she said. “It’s so good for everything, for your kids with dexterity. And any kid with ADHD or anything, it’s so good for their brains and their bodies.”
Ryan Pankratz brought his first-grade son to see where he’d get to play when school starts on Thursday.
“We're happy. He’s happy. He's already spinning on the wheel,” he said. “His friends will have a lot better time out here than just playing in the mud puddle.”
• Contact Ellie Ruel at ellie.ruel@juneauindependent.com.
