September

M. Agnes Jones Elementary School Community School Park Ribbon-cutting photo slideshow. Photos: Allison M. Slocum, APS ©

M. Agnes Jones Elementary School recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to open its new community school park, playground, and green space for students and the neighboring West End community.

The project is part of the Atlanta Community School Parks Initiative, launched in 2023 as a collaboration between Atlanta Public Schools, the City of Atlanta, Trust for Public Land, KABOOM!, the Cities Connecting Children to Nature Initiative, and Out Teach.

The effort reimagines schoolyards as dual-purpose spaces for learning and play during the day and neighborhood green spaces after hours. With the completion of the M. Agnes Jones Elementary School space, the district now counts 18 schoolyard transformations.

For students, the new playground is already a source of joy.

“I like the KABOOM! Park because it has a big slide and a tire swing that is so fun,” M. Agnes Jones Elementary School second-grader Jamir Hendricks said. “When I first came to school and saw the park, I was happy.”

Students and residents guided the park’s design. Second-graders like Hendricks became “playground detectives,” scouting for areas that could be improved, while older students learned the basics of park planning and budgeting through a hands-on activity using “KABOOM! bucks.”

Their choices helped shape a space that now features an expanded playground footprint, two sports fields with musical equipment, shaded seating, an outdoor classroom, a refurbished fitness trail, and a new Americans with Disabilities Act pathway.

M. Agnes Jones Elementary School Community School Park Ribbon-cutting Ceremony. Photo: Allison M. Slocum, APS ©

Principal Dr. Teruko Dobashi said the park’s impact will stretch beyond recess.

“This community park means so much, not just to the school but to the greater community,” Dr. Dobashi said. “It gives our students the opportunity to problem-solve and build strong relationships, but most importantly, it gives them a safe place to come on the weekends to meet new friends and learn how to play appropriately with each other and their community members.”

M. Agnes Jones Elementary School plans to expand its amenities further with a $50,000 Home Depot Retool Your School grant, which was written in partnership with Morris Brown College.

“We are going to use our grant money to create more accessible spaces and play equipment for all our students,” Dr. Dobashi said. “Regardless of their ability, they will have the opportunity to come out here and play. We also want to add more musical instruments because some of our students really enjoy their free time creating music, beats, and songs, so we want to make sure that it affirms all of our students’ interests and desires.”

M. Agnes Jones Elementary School Community School Park. Photo: Allison M. Slocum, APS ©

The M. Agnes Jones Community School Park opening was not only a neighborhood achievement but was also a part of a larger movement.

“The specific joy, delight, and importance of the partnership is that we give more of our students and our families an opportunity to experience the outdoors and to be involved in creative play, learning, intergenerational activities, and in community building,” said Cynthia Briscoe Brown, At-Large Seat 8 representative on the Atlanta Board of Education.

“The larger picture is that the Atlanta Community School Parks Project is a unique public-private partnership of nonprofits, the city, and Atlanta Public Schools coming together to creatively solve a problem,” Briscoe Brown added. “The problem is that not everyone in Atlanta has access to a community park. The answer to that problem is working together to provide spaces like this, where all of us in Atlanta can come together and enjoy healthy activities, enjoy nature, and enjoy one another.”

KABOOM! CEO Lysa Ratliff at the M. Agnes Jones Elementary Community School Park Ribbon-cutting Ceremony. Photo: Allison M. Slocum, APS ©

The partnership embodies nearly three decades of work for Lysa Ratliff, CEO of KABOOM!.

“KABOOM! has been working for almost 30 years to solve the challenge of playspace inequity, making sure all of our kids have great places to play in their school yard and in their communities,” Ratliff said. “What we found over the decades is that we can’t solve the problem alone. So partnering with Atlanta Public Schools and this community of leaders who have jumped in and said that we can solve this problem together has been everything for us. It’s the pathway to achieving our mission.”

The park grounds not only create safe play spaces but also help manage stormwater, expand tree canopies, and strengthen neighborhoods against the effects of climate change. These will remain central objectives for future initiatives, in addition to the goal of ensuring that every APS schoolyard will become a community park by 2030.