On April 6, 2019, in East Palo Alto, Ca, Playworks Silicon Valley and The Primary School community worked together to enhance the school’s playground in order to create a more safe, inclusive, and independent play space for their youngest students.
The Primary School is serving students with a holistic approach starting at age three to their current oldest cohort of first graders. They believe that providing services in all aspects of a child’s life will provide them the opportunity to grow and learn, despite many of the obstacles they may face growing up in an underserved community. This year, The Primary School brought Playworks to help with their mission.
As an AmeriCorps member, I took the opportunity to beautify The Primary School’s playground space as my Community Engagement Initiative (CEI). Planning and leading a CEI is a requirement of my role as an AmeriCorps service member. With the help of staff, parents, and students from the school, I was able to use this opportunity to positively impact my school.
The beautification event consisted of painting the grounds for a multitude of activities such as adding soccer and basketball lines, a nature walk, shapes for classrooms to line up, and a bike path. All ages were able to add the vibrant colors to their playground, whether they were two years old helping trace the stencils or the parents and staff guiding and keeping the children on track.
A huge shout out to Kelly-Moore Paints, Palo Alto, for donating all of the paint and Las Palmas Cafe and Lounge for providing beverages to keep everyone going at the event.
