Trust for Public Land, Jennings Community Learning Center Celebrate Kickoff Design for First Akron Community Schoolyard
AKRON– Trust for Public Land, in partnership with Akron Public Schools and Jennings Community Learning Center, has unveiled the design for the first Akron Community Schoolyard.
The design was revealed during a community celebration on Wednesday, May 27, marking the culmination of a participatory design process that engaged students, teachers, and neighbors. Throughout the process, students helped shape design plans, provided input on playground features, and explored green infrastructure strategies that can reduce extreme heat, manage stormwater, and improve environmental conditions for the site and the surrounding North Hill neighborhood.
Trust for Public Land is working with Akron Public Schools to transform Jennings’ outdoor space—known as “The Bowl”—into a vibrant, publicly accessible Community Schoolyard. This new green space will provide opportunities for outdoor learning and play while serving as a community park with amenities that benefit both students and residents.
“This project reflects what’s possible when students and community members help lead the vision for their neighborhood,” said Sean Terry, Ohio State Director for Trust for Public Land. “We’re proud to partner with Akron Public Schools to transform ‘The Bowl’ into a space that supports learning, play, and environmental resilience for years to come.”
The Jennings Community Schoolyard will be the first in Akron and is part of TPL’s Community Schoolyards program expanding throughout Ohio and the nation. The design reflects the priorities and creativity of the Jennings school community and will serve as a model for transforming schoolyards into vibrant green spaces that support both outdoor education and neighborhood well-being.
“At Akron Public Schools, we are committed to creating environments where our students can thrive both inside and outside the classroom,” said Akron Public Schools Superintendent Mary B. Outley. “This Community Schoolyard at Jennings will provide a safe, engaging space that supports student well-being while strengthening connections with the broader community.”
“This is an exciting moment for our students and families,” said Lashawna Grimes, Assistant Principal at Jennings Community Learning Center. “Our students have had a voice in designing a space that reflects their ideas and needs, and we’re looking forward to seeing ‘The Bowl’ transformed into a place where our community can come together.”
This project is part of Trust for Public Land’s national Community Schoolyards initiative, which works to convert asphalt schoolyards into green, accessible spaces for students and communities across the country.
Parks are essential for healthy, equitable communities. And almost 20 million people without park access, including kids and their families, live within a 10-minute walk of a public school. If all schoolyards were transformed and opened to the community after hours, 80 million people would have access to a new park within a 10-minute walk of home.
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 $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.
