From Conversation to Community Day

Five years ago, Jennifer Crespi and I started SSALD - the Special Services and Learning Differences Committee of the Mercer Island PTA - because parents of kids with IEPs and 504 plans needed a feeling of community. SSALD provided a way for us to meet, share what we knew, and strengthen our collective voice. We believed that in working collaboratively with the school district we could work towards creating real change for our kids. That belief has shaped everything SSALD has worked for since.

What we've built over five years is something we couldn't have imagined at the start - a committee with representatives at every school and on every superintendent advisory council, monthly coffees, district partnerships, and a growing community of families who no longer feel like they're navigating this alone.

Community Day

The idea started with a conversation after a Rotary meeting with Chief Ed, former Chief of Police. We discussed creating a day for our kids to meet first responders. What grew from that single conversation was something far bigger: a collaboration between city officials, the school district, and Rotary to build a festival that celebrated inclusion - designed around our kids but meant for everyone.

Our first Community Day in 2024 featured touch-a-truck, adaptive bicycles from Outdoors for All, bounce houses, food trucks, and a resource fair connecting families with local businesses and service providers who serve our community. The feedback was immediate and overwhelming. We had a mom standing near the adaptive bicycles in tears - she told us she never thought she'd see her child ride a bike. In that moment, we knew this had to be a yearly event.

This year, Community Day is back for our third year! This year will be bigger, better, and more joyful than ever. We'll have a giant video game truck, two bounce houses, food trucks, soccer fun, adaptive dance, adaptive bicycles from Outdoors for All, MIPD police vehicles, school buses, a bubble station, and more. Families from across the region are welcome. And thanks to generous continued sponsorship and support from each island PTA, Rotary, and MISF, this is a free event for families.

Community Day is what SSALD believes inclusion actually looks like – a community that shows up, makes space, and celebrates every kid exactly as they are.

Come be part of it!

Saturday, May 9th
Northwood Elementary
11am – 3pm
Free and open to all families