AUSTIN, Texas — If anyone is looking for the principal of Austin's Highland Park Elementary School on Tuesday, they won't find her in her regular office.
A Highland Park parent who reached out to KVUE said the elementary has completed a two-week "Fun Run" fundraiser to raise money for accessible playground equipment so that the school's playground can be more inclusive for children of all abilities. The parent said the students came up with the idea themselves and, in addition, raised funds for a group that helps Austin ISD families during times of crisis.
The parent said that if the students reached their $15,000 fundraising goal, Principal Katie Pena agreed to work from the school's roof for a day. After fundraising through a lemonade sale, donut sale, hot chocolate sale, pencil sales, parent donations and more, the kids raised more than $24,000, according to the parent.
Pena was expected to start working from the roof at 7:20 a.m. on Tuesday.
This isn't the first time Pena's done this. Last November, Pena promised students that she would move her desk to the roof if they hit their $3,000 fundraising goal for the Crisis Support Fund.
The students actually ended up tripling their goal last year, raising around $10,700.
As pictured above, Pena spent the whole school day of Nov. 19, 2021, on the roof, coming down mostly just for bathroom breaks. There was a basket in place that students could use to send messages up to her and vice versa.