Stratford Intermediate School and Avon Maitland District School Board have won the 2025 Annual Accessibility Award.
The award is given to a person, group or organization that has made their space/service more accessible for everyone.
Roger Koert, Chair of the city’s Accessibility Advisory Committee, said Stratford Intermediate School is now fully accessible.
“The school has undergone several impactful upgrades, including a full-service elevator connecting to all levels in the main building, enabling barrier-free access to classrooms, library, office and specialty rooms,” Koert told Stratford City Council earlier this week.
Improvements include barrier-free gender neutral washrooms on every floor, a recent renovation to the lower gym area includes an indoor lyft, creation of an outdoor pathway leading from the lower gym entrance to the accessible parking spaces, automatic door openers at major entrances and accessible entrances, construction of winding pathways around school grounds, establishment of sensory-friendly spaces for students who need quiet, low-stimulation environments, updated signage, and use of sound-field amplification systems to help students with hearing disabilities.
Cheri Carter, Superintendent of Corporate Services, said before the upgrades, the school structure was inaccessible for anyone with mobility issues.
“There wasn’t just a straight one floor, second floor, and third floor, but it was almost like a split-level in some areas where you got half-floors,” said Carter.
“The school didn’t have any accessible means to get to all floors of the building, in fact the front door had a number of stairs at the exterior so you couldn’t even get in the front door if you had accessibility issues.”
Carter said it was a multi-year project.
