Playground and Sustainability Campaign

Our Story

The eagle never avoids the storm.

When our founders — three speech-language pathologists with more than 65 years of combined experience — chose a name for the school they dreamed of building, they chose it for a reason. The eagle never avoids a storm. It flies straight into it, and uses the storm's own winds to rise higher.

That is exactly what our students do every day.

SEA opened in 2010 with five students and twelve staff. Today, 82 students from more than 50 Illinois districts learn, work, and grow here — the only school in the world integrating Developmental Language Models with DIR®/Floortime principles.

Our students fly into the storm every day. This campaign is about giving them a place to land — learn and play.

2004

Three speech-language pathologists incorporate a dream.

2010

Doors open — five students, twelve staff.

2016

Relocated to Lombard, Illinois, to grow and design a space to meet our students’ needs.

Today

82 students · 50+ districts · 180 staff.

2027

Our first playgrounds open — with your help.

A Day at SEA

Every part of the day is designed. Except one.

Walk through SEA on a school day and you'll see something rare: an entire building engineered around how our students actually learn. Every space is intentional — every space but one.

Student painting with noise-reducing headphones

The Classroom

Learning, tuned in

Instruction shaped to each student's sensory profile and communication style.

Sensory Play

Learning through exploration

Hands-on, multi-sensory work that regulates the body and teaches at once.

The School Store

Work, for real

Students stock, price, and serve customers in a real working store.

Art & Expression

Pride in every project

Creative work that builds focus, voice, and confidence.

The Mock Apartment

Life, practiced

A full apartment inside the school for independent-living skills.

The Fun Run

Every finisher wins

Community, movement, and joy at the annual Student Fun Run.

Students on a single spinner on a woodchip lot

Recess — the missing piece

Play, forgotten

A parking lot, a patch of grass, one seesaw. Never designed for them.

The Need

Sixteen years of soaring. Zero playgrounds.

For students with autism, play is not a break from learning — play is how learning happens. Movement regulates the nervous system. Climbing builds motor planning. Playing on a spinner with a friend builds social connection. Our staff uses play as a clinical tool every day. Imagine the possibilities to bring play to a specially-designed playground.

Sensory Overload

Crowds, noise, and visual chaos at public parks overwhelm rather than regulate — turning play into distress.

Safety & Accessibility

High-traffic streets create a dangerous barrier to nearby parks, and standard play spaces lack the essential fencing.

Not Built to Teach

Off-the-shelf equipment ignores motor planning, arousal levels, and developmental goals. This playground must teach.

If districts pay tuition, why fundraise?

Tuition covers over 97% of our $10 million annual budget — but it can only fund the required program, and it's based on expenses from two years prior. Everything needed to support growth during that gap — and everything beyond the baseline, including specialized equipment, facilities, individualized materials that bring learning to life, and yes, playgrounds — depends on the generosity of our community. In sixteen years, playground funding has never been within reach. That's one reason this campaign exists.

COVID and its aftermath also put significant financial pressure on the school, and challenges with rising costs, delayed district payments, and funding that doesn't always reflect the true cost of our program continue today. We've worked hard to navigate these challenges, but we've reached a point where we need to build a stronger philanthropic foundation for the future — and this campaign is how we do that.

Tuition pays for a classroom. Only a community can build a playground.

The empty lot where SEA students have recess today

“

At SEA, my son is not treated like an inconvenience, drain, or disruption — he is wholly accepted, valued, and cared for. As a parent and educator myself, I cannot adequately express how life changing SEA has been for us. Unfortunately, SEA does not have a playground. There is no adequate or fair way to explain to my son why all the other schools have a playground and his does not.

— SEA Elementary Parent

The Vision

Two playgrounds. One for every learner.

Our playground committee, comprised of staff from multiple disciplines, partnered with BCI Burke and Play Illinois to design two playgrounds that bring the SEA curriculum outside: one for our younger learners, and one for our junior high, high school, and transition-age students. Installation is targeted for August 2027.

Aerial design rendering of the two specially designed, therapeutic playgrounds

Design Rendering · BCI Burke / Play Illinois

✓

Enclosed & Independent

Fenced, secure spaces that let students explore safely — real independence and year-round use.

✓

Regulation Through Movement

Climbers, spinners, and slides that support arousal levels and regulation through play.

✓

Multi-Sensory by Design

Tactile, auditory, visual, and vestibular play — a supportive space.

✓

Built for Motor Planning

A hillside slide, varied climbing routes, and a visual path guiding movement between areas.

✓

Connection by Design

Equipment placed for students and staff to play together — at SEA, interaction drives the curriculum.

✓

Room for Everyone

Open group space for recess, PE, and outdoor academics — accessible routes so every student plays side by side.

The Goal

Every dollar goes to work.

Campaign Goal

$1.2M

$723,300

Playground Design & Construction

Full design, equipment, surfacing, fencing, and installation of both specially designed playgrounds.

$476,700

Operating Support & Sustainability

Sustaining the mission — remaining strong for the students who need SEA now and into the future.

1 Founding Gift · $250,000

$0K

2 gifts · $100,000

$0K

4 gifts · $50,000

$0K

8 gifts · $25,000

$0K

15 gifts · $10,000

$0K

20 gifts · $5,000

$0K

100 gifts · $1,000

$0K

Naming & Partnership Opportunities

$250K+

Playground FounderName an entire playground, entrance signage, a Golden Eagle donor-tree plaque, and Presenting Sponsor recognition at the ribbon-cutting in August 2027. (2 available)

$100K+

Summit PartnerName a signature play structure or the sensory & sound garden, with a Soaring Eagle donor-tree plaque and an invitation to the ribbon-cutting.

$50K

TrailblazerName the accessible path or shade pavilion, with an equipment plaque and Tree Root donor recognition.

$25K

Wingspan SponsorName a play zone element, with an equipment plaque and Tree of Gratitude wall recognition.

$10K

Wings SponsorFence signage, website, and newsletter recognition, plus an invitation to the ribbon-cutting.

$5K

Freedom SponsorDonor wall and website recognition with a newsletter acknowledgement.

$2.5K

Rising SponsorDonor wall listing, website acknowledgement, and a social media shoutout.

$1K+

Flock of FriendsDonor wall listing.

Ways to Give

Help us cross the finish line.

Every gift — every size — has a place on this playground. Give securely in seconds through our donation form.

Give to the Playground → General Fund

Pledge Over Time

Annual, quarterly, or monthly payments, aligned with the August 2027 install.

Give by Check

Payable to Soaring Eagle Academy, memo "Playground and Sustainability Campaign."

Stock & DAF Gifts

Securities, Donor-Advised Funds, and IRA distributions welcome.

Naming Opportunities

From $25,000 — name a playground, structure, or path. Let's talk.

QR code to the Soaring Eagle Academy playground donation form

Scan to give instantly

Not All Classrooms Have Four Walls

The eagle never avoids the storm.