Friendship Bridge Unites Oak Park, Lakeview Elementary Schools

A metaphoric bridge intended to span and embrace the differences between young students became a literal one, as The Friendship Bridge was officially dedicated on the grounds of Oak Park and Lakeview Elementary schools.
The two side-by-side Sarasota County schools have always had a mostly unused bridge between them. Over the years, it had fallen into neglect and was pretty much forgotten—until Brenda Smoak, National Very Special Arts (VSA) Teaching Artist Fellow and Teaching Artist with the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, stepped in.
“The students learned about each other and happily helped one another accomplish various tasks,” said Smoak, who is an occassional Patch contributor. “Having students work together like this at such a young age shows that all people are capable of contributing to the success of a project. It

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