A playground expansion at the Panther Valley Elementary School will begin next week, Robert Palazzo, supervisor of curriculum, student and community services, said Thursday.

The playground, originally constructed in 2018 with a grant from KA-BOOM!, a national nonprofit that helps communities build safe, accessible play areas, will double in size, allowing more students to enjoy the slides and climbing structures at once.

The expansion will add more of those types of features but also incorporate ADA compliant features designed to support students with autism and other individual needs.

“There’s going to be slides and things of that nature, but there will also be some handicap accessible pieces that are for students who might not be able to use the other features,” Palazzo said.

“There’s going to be different sensory wall pieces, as well as a merry-go-round that all students, regardless of ability, can use,” he said.

Another feature will be a communication board for nonverbal students to use in the playground.

“We’re excited to allow all the students that have option either playing in the playground or playing tag in the field,” he said, explaining that they had to alternate activities on different days to allow access for all students.

“There will be more free choice for students, which I think is important for them to self-direct what they want to do when they go out to recess,” Palazzo said.

Construction begins Monday and should wrap up with a community build on Friday, when volunteers from the United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley, Keel Infrastructure, formerly Bitfarms Ltd., and other organizations will pitch in on finishing work, he said.

They hope to have the expanded playground ready for students the following Monday, Palazzo said.

The $120,000 expansion will be funded through a $1 million, multiyear partnership with Keel Infrastructure, which owns the Panther Creek Cogeneration Plant off Dennison Road in Nesquehoning.

“We look forward to continuing to work together to support residents in the region, in line with our commitment to setting the gold standard for community development and engagement,” Liam Wilson, Keel chief operating officer, said in a statement issued Thursday.

The district’s partnership with the Canada-based company is centered on enhancing students’ lives in the classroom, socially, emotionally and physically.

Willow Playworks will be installing equipment Monday through Thursday, and the district chose the same vendor, Landscape Structures, for the playground equipment.

A ribbon cutting is planned for May 19 with remarks from district officials along with representatives of Keel.

The playground expansion is anticipated to enhance opportunities for play, inclusion and student well-being for years to come, the district said in a release.