CTE Students Install CORE Board at Barkell Playground

There’s a new way for students to communicate on the playground at Barkell Elementary School.

A large CORE board was unveiled Friday.

The CORE board features visual depictions of commonly used words and phrases. It’s a way for students and staff to communicate – especially students who have learning disabilities, and have limited speech.

Smaller CORE boards are already in place inside the building, but staff members thought a playground version would also be helpful.

They approached the Copper Country Intermediate School District Career and Technical Education program, and the Construction Technology class agreed to build one. The CCISD’s Special Education Department laid it out. CTE instructor Jordan Schulze designed the graphics, which were produced by Industrial Graphics of Houghton. The students then applied the graphics to the board, put it in a weather-resistant frame, and installed it on the playground.

See how it was built here:

Lisa Sporbert teaches children with severe disabilities at Barkell Elementary. She says her non-verbal students use CORE boards every day at school, and many also now use them at home.

See the full release from the CCISD, with photos, here.