Description:
A playground has been a dream for John B. Kelly (Kelly) School students, staff, and the community for many years. Comprehensive plans have been created, thrown away, recreated, and enhanced for many years. It has been a long journey to raise the funds needed to move forward with the project. We’ve engaged in several local fundraising activities and experienced varied success in seeking grant dollars to support the project. Neighboring community groups have explored any resource available to help get us to this point where we can finally move forward. Thanks to generous donations from Enon Baptist Church, Elfant Realtors, community members and the funds raised through the efforts of the The Fund for The School District of Philadelphia’s Philly FUNDmentals campaign, we will be able to receive a new playground at the Kelly School.
How is this work connected to the District's plan to achieve Goals & Guardrails? This work connects with Guardrail #1, which is, that every school will be a safe, welcoming, and healthy place where our students, staff, and community want to be and learn each day. The Kelly School playground project will add to the beautification of our school grounds. Additionally, the new play space will support Kelly students' social, emotional, and mental health wellbeing.
How will the success of this contract be measured? Success of this contract will be measured by the successful installation of the playground. In addition, we expect the playground to positively impact our overall climate rating on the School District of Philadelphia (District) district-wide survey.
When applicable, is this an evidence based strategy? If so, what evidence exists to support this approach? There is an overwhelming amount of research supporting the positive effects of play with youth. Children see a vast variety of physical benefits through playground play, including: improved flexibility and balance, dexterity and hand-eye coordination and development of overall motor skills. The presence of the playground increases the opportunities for students to learn how to control their movement and to participate in structured and guided activities.
When applicable, was a larger community of District community members and/or stakeholders involved in this selection process? If so, what groups and how? The plan to build a playground at the Kelly School has been a vision of the community for over 12 years. Community members and community partnerships worked diligently to find resources for building the playground. Over the past 3 years Kelly School families and community partners raised money and found community partners willing to fund the playground build. Community partners involved include Enon Baptist, Elfant Realtors, Kelly Green Project and Library Volunteers. Additionally, the Office of Capital Programs has supported Kelly in the development of site plans and to identify General Recreation to lead the project installation.