Sara Robertson was known as someone who could help students reach their greatest potential in the tiniest of moments — and so many of them happened on the playground.

Robertson died in 2023, but her legacy will be forever remembered at the Children’s Therapy and Early Education School, where she worked as a speech therapist for more than 20 years, with the Sara C. Robertson Playground.

At its Nov. 17 meeting, the board accepted the final estimate of $210,000 for the playground renovation and expects to break ground in early June 2026. So far, the school has raised $105,000.

“We have a good handful of people who have found out about our mission and our project and decided to participate,” Director Lauren Oliver said.

The Children’s Therapy and Early Education School received grants from the Miriam Arnold Edmonston Charitable Foundation, the Nina B. and W. Basil Leach Foundation, Audrain Developmental Disability Services — which Oliver said has been instrumental in providing funding — and memorial donations from Sara Robertson.

It also received donations from the Knights of Columbus through its Tootsie Roll Drive.

Upgrades will include a new spinner, shade structure and racetrack, as well as a complete resurfacing for accessibility.

“I think that the playground project definitely reflects the commitment and mission,” Oliver said. “We’re ensuring every child, regardless of their abilities, can participate fully in all of the activities that we have.”

Plans began three years ago when former Director Linda Huffman, Assistant Director April Backer and Robertson started looking at ways they could transform the space.

“We all just had a vision for what we wanted it to be for our kiddos,” Backer said. “We wanted it to be a place where every student could easily access all parts of the playground, and not just access them, but have meaningful and joyful interactions with their peers.”

Backer is also the early childhood special education teacher at the Children’s Therapy and Early Education School.

“Our mission is really to give all the kids who attend here the very best start to their educational career,” she said. “We serve so many kids with so many different disabilities. We want to give them the best start possible.”

The Children’s Therapy and Early Education School serves 15 students with different disabilities, providing them a stepping stone that will prepare them for their transition to public schools.

“We want to really open the world for these kids — give them an opportunity to be in an educational setting that they haven't had before and get them started,” Board Member Ron Ray said. “These staff are really pouring their hearts into these kids.”

And the playground project will ensure that students and educators can continue to make meaningful connections as Robertson once did.

“We’ve always said we have such important work to do here at the CT school, and while we miss Sara terribly, Sara would want us continuing on that work,” Backer said. “To be fulfilling this dream that Sara joined us on, for this playground to be the best that it can be, is so important.”

Renovations are expected to be completed before summer school starts in July 2026. For now, the board and staff members will focus on fundraising.

The Children’s Therapy and Early Education School is actively seeking donations. For more information, call 573-581-2793.