School staff, students, parents, alumni and local officials gathered for a recent ribbon-cutting to introduce a colorful and inviting new outdoor play space at St. James Children’s Center in Islamorada.
The new space in the rear of the school building includes a playhouse, tree climber, toys for the kids and seating. The transformation included cleaning out the existing underused space, installation and repair of fencing and installation of artificial turf.
The project was selected with input from teachers, the school’s advisory board and church members.
“We focused on reinventing underutilized space to expand the play area for the children,” said the center’s director, Amanda Lachowicz.
The project was made possible through the fifth annual read-a-thon held during March. The fundraiser encourages students to read while raising money for the nonprofit preschool and VPK program.
With a goal of raising $15.000, the school promoted that the read-a-thon funds would go toward the playground expansion, increasing outdoor play space while enhancing safety, adding age‑appropriate equipment and expanding opportunities for gross motor development and cooperative play, according to a news release from the center when announcing the fundraiser.
More than $20,000 was raised.
“It was not my initial intent to have a huge project in my first year,” said Lachowicz, who started in May 2025. “But we found a way to make the space more inviting and useful, we set a goal and the supportive school family and community made it happen.”
The project work began at the end of May and was completed before the start of the 2026-2027 school year.
“She’s done a really good job envisioning this project and putting it into reality,” said Erin Muir, whose two children graduated from the center. “Kids are seeing their fundraising efforts lead to improvements to their school.”
Joining in the ribbon-cut were State Rep. Jim Mooney, school board member Sue Woltanski, Islamorada Mayor Don Horton and councilwoman Deb Gillis, as well as Islamorada Chamber President Rob Stober and members of the chamber.
The center has 44 students from age 2-1/2 to 5. It is a four decades-long ministry of St. James the Fisherman Episcopal Church.
