Here’s how Gaenslen School made its library accessible for students

Gaenslen School has always had a purpose.

The Milwaukee school opened in 1939 to serve children with polio. In 1988, the current school building at 1250 E. Burleigh St. was designed and constructed to be wheelchair-accessible. Today Gaenslen continues to serve students who have special health care needs, including those who have orthopedic impairments, visual or hearing impairments or are considered medically fragile. Nearly 40% of the school’s students are identified as having special needs.

Gaenslen’s principal Kirsten Brown said that although the building was redesigned with those needs in mind, there were still areas of the school that needed work to make them more accessible, and to make sure kids could independently use those spaces.