AUSTINTOWN — School recess, often the favorite “subject” of students of all grades and walks of life, inspires visions of laughter and play on colorful equipment designed for a safe and gleeful respite from screens and lessons.

But one school in the Mahoning Valley that serves students with developmental disabilities and varying degrees of mobility lacks one of the key elements to the school recess experience — playground equipment.

In a residential neighborhood of Austintown, the Leonard Kirtz School, operated by the Mahoning County Board of Developmental Disabilities, has a fenced yard for recreation edged with wooded areas. A sidewalk meanders around the area sprinkled with areas of play. The school has some adaptive swings, and some handcrafted interactive play areas, but no playground set. Short, rusted metal and preschool plastic slides more at home in a small yard or playroom are grouped together, with no majestic focal point.

But Gina Symsek, director of education for the school, is leading the charge to change that.

Read about the fundraising effort and how you can help in Sunday’s Vindicator.