Playgrounds

School Grounds as Community Parks

Playground Photo

ParkWorks, in partnership with the City of Cleveland and the Cleveland Metropolitan School District, raised funds, designed and installed playgrounds at Cleveland elementary schools through our School Grounds as Community Parks initiative. More than a healthy place for children to have fun, the parks serve as a catalyst to spur academic performance, neighborhood rebuilding and overall quality of life improvements.


How and why the program was started

In 1998, Cleveland Mayor Michael R. White asked ParkWorks to address the dire and widespread lack of suitable play equipment at the City’s 82 elementary schools, which served more than 45,000 students. The majority of these schools were without appropriate playgrounds, and 75% of them had no playgrounds within a quarter of a mile.


How the schools were chosen

The goal of the School Grounds as Community Parks initiative was to build playgrounds at each of the District’s elementary schools. Schools with the highest poverty level were selected as priority sites. The first site chosen was George Washington Carver School, located on East 55th, where the poverty level was 88%. Ultimately, ParkWorks built 19 playgrounds throughout the City of Cleveland.


ParkWorks also managed the construction of projects at additional sites not on our prioritized list. Funding for these sites was provided through community block grants, community funding efforts and the Cleveland Metropolitan School District.


What each site includes

Flying kites in a playground photo

Each School Ground park includes playground equipment, an outdoor learning garden and site improvements such as landscaping and parking. The garden and outdoor learning lab components were a joint effort with the Cleveland Botanical Garden that provided an innovative teacher-training program.