Greenfield School Chosen as Site of Pittsburgh's First Community Schoolyard

For years, Greenfield School students, parents, and teachers have been dreaming of building a playground. In 2021, the PTO surveyed school families about whether fundraising for a playground was a priority for them, and a resounding 89% said yes. We then went on to raise $100K in 2022 toward a playground, a community effort that got noticed - in a big way.

Thanks to the community's hard work, our dream is finally going to come true in Summer 2024. The Trust for Public Land (TPL), partnering with the Western PA Conservancy, will transform a portion of the current outdoor play area into a multi-purpose learning and play space as part of their Community Schoolyards program.

TPL has built many community schoolyards across the country - you can learn more about existing schoolyards here. The Community Schoolyards initiative is meant to bring sustainable green space to hard-surface schoolyards prevalent in underserved urban communities. Greenfield will be the first Pittsburgh community schoolyard, but likely not its last, which is exciting news. It will include playground equipment as well as other elements that will fit the needs of our community.

In May 2023, Ms. Evans' third grade homeroom was selected to help kick off the schoolyard design process. The students worked with TPL and Conservancy educators to dream big and imagine the layout of Greenfield's schoolyard. The students' ideas, as well as community survey input, have been handed over to professional designers, who will be working closely with school administration, the PTO, and the Greenfield Community Association to finalize the design.

We're thrilled about this project and what it will mean for our students - as well as the community as a whole! As the project progresses, we'll post more information here on the blog.