TACOMA – Students at Helen B. Stafford Elementary School watched a new playground come to life over the last year, their imaginations and excitement running wild.
Green turf has replaced concrete. Playground equipment colored purple, gold and blue was installed and the kids have already named each piece – the favorites are “spider web,” a netted circle students can climb on, and “spinner,” a modern merry-go-round.
There are also three different types of swings, slides, a spiral staircase, and a lion statue in honor of the school’s mascot. Finishing touches will include a new field that will open when unusually harsh winter conditions begin to ease.
Some of the older children helped design the community-driven playground renovation, which will be open to the public outside of school hours and offers park space within a 10-minute walk for 5,770 people who live nearby.
“In the South End, we’re pretty under-resourced as a whole without a lot of access to parks or recreation areas for our kids to play and families to enjoy,” said Principal Annie Mosich. “The Community Schoolyard supports our goals to be a hub for the community and neighborhood making this a place people want to live and visit.”
Stafford is one of five elementary schools in Tacoma where playgrounds are being renovated into community schoolyards through an innovative partnership between Trust for Public Land, Tacoma Public Schools and Metro Parks Tacoma.
Construction is underway at Jennie Reed Elementary School and Stafford’s schoolyard officially opened to the community Jan. 31. Next, the focus will be on Mann, Whitman and Larchmont elementary schools.
The pilot program is meant to address Tacoma having the largest park access gap of any major city in Washington. More than 65,000 people in the city don’t live within a 10-minute walk, or half mile, of a park.
These five Community Schoolyards will serve about 25,000 people and increase the percentage of Tacoma residents living near parks from 69 percent to 75 percent.
“It’s wonderful to see the joy Stafford’s new playground has already brought the students and it’s an important step toward improving the quality of life for everyone in the community,” said Metro Parks Tacoma Park Board President Andrea Smith.
There is great value in adding public park space and making it accessible, but that’s not what has the Stafford students excited.
Olivia McPherson, a fifth grader, is eagerly anticipating the opening of the field so she can run on grass. “It looks really nice,” she said.
Sebastian Cervantes, a second grader, loves everything about the new playground and said it’s a lot more fun than the previous playground. “I think it’s better,” he said.
Denis Cupceanu, a fifth grader, said he prefers to play on the bucket swing and spinner but also loves the lion statue.
Luke Jeong, a fifth grader, is most taken with how much brighter the schoolyard is. “I like how the colors are more vibrant,” he said.
Many of these students serve on Student Council and will take part in the ribbon cutting celebration, acting as emcee and giving tours.
Principal Mosich said teachers were delighted with how curious the students have been about the playground construction and their obvious enjoyment of the finished product.
“It’s cool to see the kids so excited,” she said. “Their play is more endless and they go from one thing to the next fluidly without getting bored as quickly.”
Other improvements at Stafford include an upgraded drainage system, which will mitigate flooding that has happened due to the school being built on wetlands in the early 1900s. It also has an amphitheater for outdoor classes, basketball courts and walking paths.
