State Officials Secure $700K to Build Community Schoolyards in Atlanta Public Schools

Crawford Long Middle School brought its A+ game to show their appreciation for the $700,000 grant secured by Congresswoman Nikema Williams, Senator Raphael Warnock, and Senator Jon Ossoff to build two new Community Schoolyards in Atlanta Public Schools (APS).

Students impressed a room packed with local elected officials, APS leadership, and community members with performances from the school band, cheerleaders, and two excellent student speakers who welcomed the occasion.

Photos by: Adrian Williams

APS has partnered with Trust for Public Land (TPL) to bring Community Schoolyards to more than a dozen schools. The non-profit organization has been around for more than 50 years, and has been creating healthier, more equitable, more climate resilient communities by building parks and preserving land in Georgia since 2018.

“This is a great opportunity for Crawford Long Middle School,” Principal Carla McCall-McCou said. “It’s very exciting because our students spend about eight hours plus a day here, and now we have the opportunity for individuals to see that we’re not only invested in our scholars while they’re in the building, but also when they transition home to their families.”

RELATED: APS debuts 4 new Schoolyards for students and communities

APS has more than a dozen community schoolyards on campuses already, and the funds from this grant will support the creation of two more. The schoolyards turn vacant or underutilized space into a recreational haven where students can safely learn and play, while also providing a green space for people in the community to enjoy the outdoors.

“We know that happy children learn better, and when children have spaces that they can enjoy in their communities, with the community, we build stronger communities,” Congresswoman Williams said. “When we look at the statistics, so many Atlantans don’t live within a 10-minute walk of a public park. That’s what these investments are about. Investing in communities that have historically been underrepresented and making sure that everybody understands that whole communities start with giving people safe places to gather.”

Long Middle School will be the 15^th community schoolyard site, and the best part about this program is that the students will guide the vision of what their future schoolyard will look like.

“One of the greatest things about this schoolyard is that students are going to take ownership for this project,” McCall-McCou said. “They’re going to have the opportunities to see their vision come to life. And because we are a STEAM school, students will be able to integrate that problem-based and critical thinking to develop an area for them.”

“Not only is it in alignment with what we’re teaching every day in our classes, but it also allows students to see that their voice matters,” she added.

RELATED: APS Schoolyards Will Be Reimagined As Community Parks

This Fall, around October, TPL will begin meeting with a group of 15-30 students over the course of the semester and begin discussing ideas and designing their vision of the space. Students will survey their peers and community members, manage a budget, and let TPL bring their vision to life.

“Kids have an incredible imagination,” TPL Georgia director George Dusenbury said. “We’ll see where some of the kids want to have a literary theme or an environmental justice theme. The important part is that the kids reflect the vision, values, and priorities of the community in which they live.”

“Going through this process allows the creativity of the kids to come through and express the values of the community,” he added. “Then we take that and we help design that schoolyard to express and meet those needs.”

The total process takes approximately 18 months to complete, and TPL predicts that Long Middle School students and the Glenrose Heights community will be ready to use their new community schoolyard by the end of 2027.