Community-School Parks:
December 2008
Green Light for Two CSP Pilot Sites
When the LAUSD School Board accepted the report on Community-School Parks on Nov. 25, the District gave a green light to develop pilot sites at 28th Street and Trinity Street elementary schools.
Click here to read the
CSP working group report.
“We wouldn’t be where we are without the help of LAUSD Board members and staff,” said PFP Vice President John Perez, who also sits on the working group that drafted the CSP report. “Now we’re working closely with City Council members and staff on a companion motion to implement CSPs.”
28th Street and Trinity Street meet criteria recommended in the CSP report: neither is close to an existing park, both serve poor neighborhoods, and each school’s site-council has voted to support the program. Board President Monica Garcia and Councilwoman Jan Perry represent the areas around both schools.
The design phase of the project is well underway. PFP consultant Carrie Sutkin, BlueGreen designer Lynne Dwyer and translator Carmelo Alvarez have led workshops at both schools to present plans and listen to local feedback.
The 28th Street design features an enclosed park, a track, a quiet sitting area, and an employee parking lot that doubles as a hard-surface playground after school. Plans are being redrawn to include Principal Rodrigo Rodriguez’s request for outdoor classrooms and assembly areas. LAUSD is also building a bungalow with six restrooms to serve the CSP.
“This will be an oasis in the middle of an industrial zone,” said 28th Street parent Martha Sanchez. “The kids will be happy to have a safe place to play with room, and the parents are looking forward to a school that doesn’t look like a prison. For me, the most excited thing will be offering our children a green space where they can learn about nature. That is something they don’t have now.”
Trinity Street teachers, parents and neighbors strongly supported a design that accommodates a playset being installed by the Kirk and Anne Douglas Foundation.
Support from the LAUSD and City of Los Angeles will not be enough to complete the project. PFP is committed to recruiting local residents to staff the new CSPs and to helping raise funds. The Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy has awarded a significant grant to incorporate water-treatment features in the CSPs to reduce pollution of the L.A. River. Proposition 84 funds used in our watershed study may also fund the development of our sites.
Contact PFP consultant Carrie Sutkin for more information on how you can support the CSP program with time or funding.
|
