Tacoma Reaches Milestone: Community Schoolyards Pilot Program Fully Complete with Opening of New Larchmont Elementary Schoolyard
Today, students, families, and local leaders celebrated the opening of Tacoma’s newest community schoolyard. With the completion of Larchmont schoolyard park, Trust for Public Land, Tacoma Public Schools and Parks Tacoma have renovated five existing schoolyards under the Tacoma Community Schoolyards Pilot Program. In alignment with community visioning and city priorities, the group, alongside a host of community partners and neighbors, transformed schoolyards at Larchmont, Whitman, Mann, Helen B. Stafford, and Jennie Reed elementary schools.
“The Larchmont Community Schoolyard marks a significant milestone in increasing access to parks and enhancing outdoor spaces for learning, recreation, and community cohesion across Tacoma,” said Sarneshea Evans, Northwest Parks for People Program Director for Trust for Public Land. “The Tacoma Community Schoolyards Pilot Program has been a transformative project and we’re deeply grateful for the collaboration between partners and so proud to support access to the outdoors for our Tacoma community.”
Designed to benefit students during the school day and the entire neighborhood after hours, the five new schoolyard parks support learning, play, and community connection and benefit nearly 2,000 students and 25,000 Tacomans that live within a 10-minute walk of the parks. If schoolyards across the nation – occupying 2 million acres of land – followed in Tacoma’s footsteps, approximately 80 million people would have access to a new park within a 10-minute walk of home.
“Tacoma Public Schools is so proud to host the Larchmont Community Schoolyard and be part of this incredible program,” said Dr. Josh Garcia, Superintendent, Tacoma Public Schools. “It’s been a truly collaborative process and we are grateful to the students and community members who helped design these spaces, making it their own and meeting the needs of the community. We know how important it is for youth and their families to have safe places to play and be active. We know students benefit when they spend time in nature-rich spaces and familiar environments that include trees, gardens, and updated play equipment.”
Larchmont Elementary’s updated schoolyard features new playground equipment, an outdoor classroom, community gathering space, new seating, benches and picnic areas, and additional greenery. These amenities will give 291 students daily access to nature-rich play that supports learning, health, and happiness. The schoolyard will also soon include a new traffic garden, created in partnership with The City of Tacoma’s Safe Routes to School Program. Through a shared-use agreement, the schoolyard will be open as a local park to the surrounding neighborhood during after school hours and on weekends, increasing access to nature’s benefits to the more than 4,000 residents that live within a 10-minute walk of the space. Additional trees will be added to Larchmont’s schoolyard later this year.
Students, teachers, and neighbors all played a key role in creating the new park at Larchmont Elementary School, contributing ideas and collaborating on designs that advance community goals and reflect local culture.
“Community schoolyards are an innovative way to bring play spaces and greenery to the Tacoma neighborhoods that need it most and we are so thankful for the partnerships that have brought student-led design ideas to life,” Park Board President Matt Mauer said. “These transformed schoolyards support access to parks and will be cherished by students and neighbors for years to come.”
“As a mom myself, I know how much it means to kids to have a dedicated neighborhood space for play,” said Stephanie Lizza, Senior Director of Community Health, Northwest and Washington Kaiser Permanente. “Everyone deserves to live in a safe, healthy community. That kind of community includes beautiful playgrounds like this one at Larchmont Elementary. Kaiser Permanente is proud to be a partner in this project.”
Improvements to Larchmont Elementary were made possible through community engagement, planning support, and in-kind donations, as well as through generous funding from Parks Tacoma, Tacoma Public Schools, City of Tacoma, Kaiser Permanente, Names Family Foundation, Washington State – Recreation and Conservation Office, Boeing, Bamford Foundation, The Norcliffe Foundation, The Russell Family Foundation, and additional businesses, foundations, and community members.
“I know how much it means to have access to parks and green spaces, and I am thankful my Tacoma City Council colleagues joined me in allocating the final funds needed to bring the vision for the Larchmont Elementary Community Schoolyard to life,” said City of Tacoma Deputy Mayor Joe Bushnell. “We have already seen the joyful impact these new, community-focused schoolyards have had on the Eastside and South End. Thank you to Tacoma Public Schools, Parks Tacoma, and Trust for Public Land for your dedicated work. It will have a lasting impact for generations to come.”
About Trust for Public Land:
Trust for Public Land (TPL) is a national nonprofit that works to connect everyone to the benefits and joys of the outdoors. As a leader in equitable access to the outdoors, TPL works with communities to create parks and protect public land where they are needed most. Since 1972, TPL has protected more than 4 million acres of public land, created more than 5,500 parks, trails, schoolyards, and iconic outdoor places, raised $112 billion in public funding for parks and public lands, and connected nearly 10 million people to the outdoors. To learn more, visit tpl.org.
About Tacoma Public Schools:
Tacoma Public Schools (TPS) is one of the largest districts in Washington State serving approximately 29,000 children in preschool through grade 12. The district has 36 elementary schools, 13 middle schools, and 11 high schools. TPS has nearly 5,000 employees and is one of the largest employers in Tacoma.
About Parks Tacoma:
Established as the state’s first independent parks agency in 1907, Parks Tacoma manages more than 2,900 acres of land. That includes 80 parks and regional attractions like Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium, Northwest Trek Wildlife Park, Fort Nisqually Living History Museum and the W.W. Seymour Conservatory. The District offers hundreds of recreational, environmental and zoological programs that encourage people to play, learn and grow.
About Kaiser Permanente:
Kaiser Permanente is committed to helping shape the future of health care. We are recognized as one of America’s leading health care providers and nonprofit health plans. Founded in 1945, Kaiser Permanente has a mission to provide high-quality, affordable health care services and to improve the health of our members and the communities we serve. We currently serve nearly 12.6 million members in 9 states and the District of Columbia. Care for members and patients is focused on their total health and guided by their personal Permanente Medical Group physicians, specialists, and team of caregivers. Our expert and caring medical teams are empowered and supported by industry-leading technology advances and tools for health promotion, disease prevention, state-of-the-art care delivery, and world-class chronic disease management. Kaiser Permanente is dedicated to care innovations, clinical research, health education, and the support of community health.
