Harvard-Kent School Celebrates New Schoolyard

On a beautiful, sunny Friday morning—the kind that seem tailor-made for outdoor fun—Harvard-Kent Elementary School in Charlestown celebrated the grand opening of its new, improved schoolyard.

At a ribbon cutting ceremony held outside the school’s renovated Bunker Hill Street entrance, Harvard-Kent Principal Jason Gallagher, Boston Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Carol Johnson, Mayor Tom Menino and Boston Schoolyard Initiative representative Kathy McHugh thanked the many people who made the project possible and spoke about the great things happening daily at Harvard-Kent and throughout the public school system.

“I want to thank everyone for joining us on this special day, a day that we celebrate the revitalization of the Harvard-Kent schoolyard and the creation of our new outdoor classroom,” Gallagher said in his welcoming remarks. “We celebrate a new schoolyard where students and neighbors can run and climb and play in a safe, clean environment. We celebrate an outdoor classroom where students can work in an urban meadow and learn about trees and plants or just find a quiet place to read or write, ironically within about 30 yards of the Tobin Bridge. We celebrate a new entrance to the Harvard-Kent where families can meet their children after school in a bright, welcoming space, rather than a pit.”

Several speakers mentioned the unfinished “pit” that had marked the school’s lower entrance for many years.

“Just two years ago at the 2011 Leadership and Scholarship awards ceremony, I was so proud to announce that the Harvard-Kent School itself was a winner, the recipient of our Schoolyard Initiative funding grant,” the mayor said. “At that time, I predicted that in two years with the support of our funders, the pit […] that used to be in front of the school would be transformed into a dynamic, exciting schoolyard. […] It’s such a marvelous difference.”

Founded in 1995, the Boston Schoolyard Initiative is a public-private partnership between the City of Boston, Boston Public Schools and the Boston Schoolyard Funders Collaborative that works to build better outdoor spaces for the city’s schools.

“The Boston Schoolyard Initiative has been partnering with the city for the past 18 years to revitalize the schoolyards, and we have invested together over $20 million in schoolyard infrastructure, reaching 88 schools in neighborhoods all over the city,” said Initiative representative Kathy McHugh, a Charlestown resident.

Wearing a bright green Harvard-Kent T-shirt given to her at the school’s Leadership and Scholarship awards event prior to the ribbon cutting, Supt. Johnson praised the leadership of Mayor Menino and others and spoke about the great work being done in Boston schools.

“I can tell you great things are happening for kids at this school,” said Johnson, a Charlestown resident. “Charlestown has great schools, and we hope parents keep choosing us, because we are going to make these schools even better every single day.”

As part of the event, the Harvard-Kent Chorus sang “What a Wonderful World," then gathered around as officials cut a big pink ribbon and officially welcomed students onto the new playground, which they have already been enjoying this school year.