On Wednesday, May 13, students, teachers, 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. 

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.