Fwd: TIMELY: Letters of support needed for Jackson Street School
Maureen T. Carney
From: Jo Comerford <jo.com...@moveon.org>
Date: Wed, Sep 3, 2014 at 9:56 AM
Subject: TIMELY: Letters of support needed for Jackson Street School
To: Northamp...@googlegroups.com
Jackson Street Elementary School has the good fortune to apply for a Community Preservation Act grant for an expanded playground and outdoor learning space.
I write with the hope you can send a letter of support for our application. Our deadline is Thursday, September 4, 2014. These letters could make or break our application. Please take 5 minutes to send an email!
Attached you'll find a draft design of the playground's layout. Below, you'll find a summary of the project's intent and scope.
Please direct your email to the "Community Preservation Act Committee" and email jo.come...@gmail.com with a few sentences characterizing your support for Jackson Street School and/or this project.
Please write from your position as a City Council member.
Again, we have to have all letters in by Friday, September 5 -- at the latest -- in order to compile them in time for the grant deadline.
Thanks, in advance, for your help.
Yours,
Jo (for the playground committee: Tom, Jordan, Garrett, Tricia, Mark, Dan, Mary, Jody)
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Summary of Jackson Street School's playground and learning space initiative
Total projected cost: $250,000
Projected funding from Community Preservation Act, Community Development Block Grant, Local businesses, individuals, earned income from events/sales.
Project goal
The goal is to ensure that all Jackson Street Elementary School’s students and families, as well as members of the wider community -- regardless of ability -- have play structures and associated outdoor learning centers which address their cognitive, physical, social, and emotional development needs.
Project summary
Jackson Street Elementary School (JSS) has long served as a community focal point for welcoming and free outdoor recreation and community gatherings.
The school is proud of its diverse student body and wonderful faculty and staff. It's also quite proud to be a destination spot for families wanting to play and gather on its grounds.
The school’s administration, staff, and families have long worked collaboratively, effectively, and productively to provide for all at JSS, as well as the community at large. Through staffing, maintenance, and supplies, the Northampton School Dept. fully supports the school’s grounds and playgrounds. Jackson Street also has an active PTO, as well as several thriving school/community partnerships such as Families with Power/Familias con Poder and a school garden program.
This past June, due to increased safety concerns, JSS had to make the very tough decision to remove the beloved wooden structure, which had become an iconic play space for generations of Northampton families. As sad as the Jackson Street community was to bid farewell to the structure and gathering space, it views this moment as an opportunity to create a truly accessible, environmentally sound play and educational space, tied in greater measure to the best practices of outdoor play and learning which aids in building minds, bodies, and community.
With Community Preservation Act support, as well as funding from individuals and local businesses, Jackson Street School will expand a remaining play
space (lovingly called the Ms. Agna Playground) to build a playground for its students. In doing so, the school will also meet an urgent community development need for accessible
outdoor play space for families and children in the surrounding neighborhoods, as
well as the wider community. The school will also develop an outdoor classroom and shape the existing woods to foster expanded opportunities for education.
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