Trust for Public Land and East Cleveland City School District Celebrate Opening of Ohio’s First Community Schoolyard at Caledonia Elementary
CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, Ohio – Trust for Public Land (TPL), in partnership with the East Cleveland City School District and community partners, today celebrated the grand opening of Ohio’s first community schoolyard at Caledonia Elementary School. The ribbon-cutting ceremony marked a historic milestone for East Cleveland, where a once-asphalt schoolyard has been transformed into a vibrant, green space designed by and for students, teachers, and the neighborhood.
The community schoolyard initiative reimagines underused schoolyards as welcoming public parks, open to the community after school hours and on weekends. With this transformation, nearly 2,700 neighborhood residents now have safe, walkable access to a park — many for the very first time.
“By transforming Caledonia Elementary’s schoolyard into a shared public space, we are making sure every child and every family in East Cleveland has the opportunity to enjoy the benefits of nature, right outside their doors,” said Sean Terry, Ohio Program Director for Trust for Public Land. “This is just the beginning — together, we can expand this model so that every Ohioan lives within a short walk of a safe and welcoming park.”
The design of the Caledonia Community Schoolyard, which was unveiled in December 2023, was guided by input from students, educators, and neighbors, ensuring the new space reflects the community’s needs and aspirations. During the design phase, students used a TPL model to develop community engagement strategies, gather resident input, implement public planning principles, and learn how these spaces work to improve the environment, and by extension, individual and community health, parks equity, and climate resilience.
Features of the new space include green play areas and outdoor classrooms for hands-on learning, trees and landscaping to provide shade, absorb stormwater, and reduce heat, walking paths and play equipment for fitness and recreation, gathering spaces for families and neighbors to connect. The space also includes garden beds residents are using for growing fresh, locally sourced produce.
“Caledonia Elementary represents more than a school—it’s a launchpad for our students’ futures,” said Dr. Henry Pettiegrew, Superintendent and CEO of East Cleveland City Schools. “Every investment here is an investment in East Cleveland’s next generation of leaders, creators, and change-makers.”
Access to nature and green spaces and playgrounds has been associated with better general health, including reduced stress levels, reduced depression, and improved social well-being in both adults and youth. Teachers and school administrators also report that attendance, behavior, and test scores improve following schoolyard renovations.
A recent study by TPL found that 36 percent of the nation’s 50.8 million public school students attended school in a heat island, defined as 1.25 degrees warmer or more, on average, than the surrounding town or city. Planting native plants and trees will increase shade in the schoolyard and provide physical health and climate benefits.
Opening schoolyards to the public during non-school hours would put a park within a 10-minute walk of nearly 80 million people, including 20 million nationwide who currently lack access to public green spaces. Renovated schoolyards, built with landscaped gardens and porous surfaces, absorb stormwater and prevent floods while trees help provide cooler play spaces. Through TPL’s Community Schoolyards program, the organization has renovated over 350 schoolyards nationwide.
TPL is also proud to continue our Community Schoolyard efforts across Ohio through a partnership with Akron Public Schools, with a goal to transform schoolyards in the district and create welcoming outdoor spaces for the city.
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 5,504 parks, trails, schoolyards, and iconic outdoor places, raised $111 billion in public funding for parks and public lands, and connected nearly 9.7 million people to the outdoors. To learn more, visit tpl.org.
