Peabody aftercare chaos

[Anonymous]

^^what Eastern Market playground plans are there? We live right near there and I would have loved a playground when my kids were toddlers.

[Anonymous]

^^. It will replace the old guerilla tot playground in the corner park between 8th/9th and D/Pennsylvania Ave. It is part of the plan for the four corner parks including a new metro entrance-scape and a propose underground entrance into the library.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hush OP, this is our kids' version of the 70s free range childhood. They'll be fine.

Those kids are really wild and often hurt the toddlers playing there.

Peabody also has their own beautiful playground that they don't open to the public, which makes it especially obnoxious that they farm their out of control aftercare out to Stanton.

Why don't they use their own playground (serious question)?

I believe that Peabody has 2 after care providers, and one uses the Peabody playground and the other uses Stanton.

It's not unusual for a school playground to be locked on the weekends and evenings. Otherwise they'd get dirty and used for non-kid things. Some playgrounds have family volunteers that lock up the playground at dark -- this allows the playground to be open to the public during daylight, non-school hours. Maybe Peabody was having trouble getting parent volunteers, or had more trouble with inappropriate use by the public.

That's nonsense. Brent, Maury and LT all allow the public to use the playground after school and on weekends. And LT has an amazing brand new playground!

It's not nonsense. At Maury the reason the park is open is that a school family has the lock and locks and unlocks the playground in the evenings. Peabody is in a different and more central location, so I think it's fine if they limit the playground more than that.

There is literally nothing about Peabody's playground or location that makes it more reasonable for them to exclude the public.

I live in the neighborhood. I'm fine with them keeping it closed. I assume they have a good reason for it. There are plenty of other options.

No. It's ridiculous that any of the local elementary schools lock their playgrounds on the weekends. They can be great neighborhood meeting points. I wish DCPS would reduce the amount of playground funding for any school that doesn't commit to supporting having the playground open on weekends.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:this thread is why I don't get some of the bitching over the planned new Eastern Market playground near 9th. There's so much demand for playground space on the Hill and it makes sense to have some capacity removed from immediate school proximity.

Agggh who is bitching about the plans for a playground there??? That's nuts.

I suspect it was the immediate neighbors who didn't like the prospect of added noise (silly right?). Would certainly beat vagrants stoned off their gourd on spice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hush OP, this is our kids' version of the 70s free range childhood. They'll be fine.

Those kids are really wild and often hurt the toddlers playing there.

Peabody also has their own beautiful playground that they don't open to the public, which makes it especially obnoxious that they farm their out of control aftercare out to Stanton.

Why don't they use their own playground (serious question)?

I believe that Peabody has 2 after care providers, and one uses the Peabody playground and the other uses Stanton.

It's not unusual for a school playground to be locked on the weekends and evenings. Otherwise they'd get dirty and used for non-kid things. Some playgrounds have family volunteers that lock up the playground at dark -- this allows the playground to be open to the public during daylight, non-school hours. Maybe Peabody was having trouble getting parent volunteers, or had more trouble with inappropriate use by the public.

Do you want to volunteer to come pick up all the trash that will get left on the playground if its open all weekend? If you're lucky it will only be fast food trash. If you're unlucky it will be used condoms and needles. That's why schools close the playgrounds. Miner's was opened and part of it got burned down one night.

That's nonsense. Brent, Maury and LT all allow the public to use the playground after school and on weekends. And LT has an amazing brand new playground!

It's not nonsense. At Maury the reason the park is open is that a school family has the lock and locks and unlocks the playground in the evenings. Peabody is in a different and more central location, so I think it's fine if they limit the playground more than that.

There is literally nothing about Peabody's playground or location that makes it more reasonable for them to exclude the public.

I live in the neighborhood. I'm fine with them keeping it closed. I assume they have a good reason for it. There are plenty of other options.

No. It's ridiculous that any of the local elementary schools lock their playgrounds on the weekends. They can be great neighborhood meeting points. I wish DCPS would reduce the amount of playground funding for any school that doesn't commit to supporting having the playground open on weekends.

[Anonymous]

Schools close the playground on evenings and weekends because they get damaged and full of trash. If you want to volunteer to clean up the used condoms and needles on Monday morning before the students arrive then give the principals a call. Miner had theirs open and part of it got burned down one night a few years ago. I don't blame the schools for prioritizing use of the playground for their own students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Schools close the playground on evenings and weekends because they get damaged and full of trash. If you want to volunteer to clean up the used condoms and needles on Monday morning before the students arrive then give the principals a call. Miner had theirs open and part of it got burned down one night a few years ago. I don't blame the schools for prioritizing use of the playground for their own students.

:roll

The Stanton Park neighborhood is very different than the Miner neighborhood and regardless, LT, Brent, Maury and others manage to do it. Peabody is twice over not being a good neighbor (taking over the public park with their understaffed aftercare and not opening their playground to the public).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hush OP, this is our kids' version of the 70s free range childhood. They'll be fine.

Those kids are really wild and often hurt the toddlers playing there.

Peabody also has their own beautiful playground that they don't open to the public, which makes it especially obnoxious that they farm their out of control aftercare out to Stanton.

Why don't they use their own playground (serious question)?

I believe that Peabody has 2 after care providers, and one uses the Peabody playground and the other uses Stanton.

It's not unusual for a school playground to be locked on the weekends and evenings. Otherwise they'd get dirty and used for non-kid things. Some playgrounds have family volunteers that lock up the playground at dark -- this allows the playground to be open to the public during daylight, non-school hours. Maybe Peabody was having trouble getting parent volunteers, or had more trouble with inappropriate use by the public.

I can think of multiple public playgrounds - even those very close to a school - that have problems with condoms, empty liquor bottles, human feces, and drunk adults sleeping off their hangovers.

Those images make a strong argument for locking up public parks after sundown and on weekends. Adults and teenagers can't be trusted to behave appropriately, so small children can't have nice things.
That's nonsense. Brent, Maury and LT all allow the public to use the playground after school and on weekends. And LT has an amazing brand new playground!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hush OP, this is our kids' version of the 70s free range childhood. They'll be fine.

Those kids are really wild and often hurt the toddlers playing there.

Peabody also has their own beautiful playground that they don't open to the public, which makes it especially obnoxious that they farm their out of control aftercare out to Stanton.

Why don't they use their own playground (serious question)?

I believe that Peabody has 2 after care providers, and one uses the Peabody playground and the other uses Stanton.

It's not unusual for a school playground to be locked on the weekends and evenings. Otherwise they'd get dirty and used for non-kid things. Some playgrounds have family volunteers that lock up the playground at dark -- this allows the playground to be open to the public during daylight, non-school hours. Maybe Peabody was having trouble getting parent volunteers, or had more trouble with inappropriate use by the public.

That's nonsense. Brent, Maury and LT all allow the public to use the playground after school and on weekends. And LT has an amazing brand new playground!

I can think of multiple public playgrounds - even those very close to a school - that have problems with condoms, empty liquor bottles, human feces, and drunk adults sleeping off their hangovers. It happens on a case by case basis. Those images make a strong argument for locking up public parks after sundown and on weekends. It's nice that some parks work out for the children, but it's clear that not all of them do.

It's a sad fact that some adults and teenagers can't be trusted to behave appropriately, so small children can't have nice things.

[Anonymous]

....so they can be vandalized on the weekends and the kids at the school can't play on them during recess because of broken glass, needles, and other dangers. Right!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hush OP, this is our kids' version of the 70s free range childhood. They'll be fine.

Those kids are really wild and often hurt the toddlers playing there.

Peabody also has their own beautiful playground that they don't open to the public, which makes it especially obnoxious that they farm their out of control aftercare out to Stanton.

Why don't they use their own playground (serious question)?

I believe that Peabody has 2 after care providers, and one uses the Peabody playground and the other uses Stanton.

It's not unusual for a school playground to be locked on the weekends and evenings. Otherwise they'd get dirty and used for non-kid things. Some playgrounds have family volunteers that lock up the playground at dark -- this allows the playground to be open to the public during daylight, non-school hours. Maybe Peabody was having trouble getting parent volunteers, or had more trouble with inappropriate use by the public.

That's nonsense. Brent, Maury and LT all allow the public to use the playground after school and on weekends. And LT has an amazing brand new playground!

It's not nonsense. At Maury the reason the park is open is that a school family has the lock and locks and unlocks the playground in the evenings. Peabody is in a different and more central location, so I think it's fine if they limit the playground more than that.

There is literally nothing about Peabody's playground or location that makes it more reasonable for them to exclude the public.

I live in the neighborhood. I'm fine with them keeping it closed. I assume they have a good reason for it. There are plenty of other options.

No. It's ridiculous that any of the local elementary schools lock their playgrounds on the weekends. They can be great neighborhood meeting points. I wish DCPS would reduce the amount of playground funding for any school that doesn't commit to supporting having the playground open on weekends.

[Anonymous]

Honestly, as far as the brand new playground at LT is concerned it was advocated by the families of LT students. There is a perfectly good PUBLIC playground located a couple of blocks away. Nannies can take their charges down there and let the kids at LT enjoy their new well-deserved playground.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Schools close the playground on evenings and weekends because they get damaged and full of trash. If you want to volunteer to clean up the used condoms and needles on Monday morning before the students arrive then give the principals a call. Miner had theirs open and part of it got burned down one night a few years ago. I don't blame the schools for prioritizing use of the playground for their own students.

:roll

The Stanton Park neighborhood is very different than the Miner neighborhood and regardless, LT, Brent, Maury and others manage to do it. Peabody is twice over not being a good neighbor (taking over the public park with their understaffed aftercare and not opening their playground to the public).

[Anonymous]

Luckily the LT administration isn't as selfish as you are.

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, as far as the brand new playground at LT is concerned it was advocated by the families of LT students. There is a perfectly good PUBLIC playground located a couple of blocks away. Nannies can take their charges down there and let the kids at LT enjoy their new well-deserved playground.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Schools close the playground on evenings and weekends because they get damaged and full of trash. If you want to volunteer to clean up the used condoms and needles on Monday morning before the students arrive then give the principals a call. Miner had theirs open and part of it got burned down one night a few years ago. I don't blame the schools for prioritizing use of the playground for their own students.

:roll

The Stanton Park neighborhood is very different than the Miner neighborhood and regardless, LT, Brent, Maury and others manage to do it. Peabody is twice over not being a good neighbor (taking over the public park with their understaffed aftercare and not opening their playground to the public).

[Anonymous]

Do you even live on the Hill???? We don't get condoms and needles at Stanton Park. What on earth would make you think Peabody, across the street, would be any different?

Anonymous wrote:....so they can be vandalized on the weekends and the kids at the school can't play on them during recess because of broken glass, needles, and other dangers. Right!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hush OP, this is our kids' version of the 70s free range childhood. They'll be fine.

Those kids are really wild and often hurt the toddlers playing there.

Peabody also has their own beautiful playground that they don't open to the public, which makes it especially obnoxious that they farm their out of control aftercare out to Stanton.

Why don't they use their own playground (serious question)?

I believe that Peabody has 2 after care providers, and one uses the Peabody playground and the other uses Stanton.

It's not unusual for a school playground to be locked on the weekends and evenings. Otherwise they'd get dirty and used for non-kid things. Some playgrounds have family volunteers that lock up the playground at dark -- this allows the playground to be open to the public during daylight, non-school hours. Maybe Peabody was having trouble getting parent volunteers, or had more trouble with inappropriate use by the public.

That's nonsense. Brent, Maury and LT all allow the public to use the playground after school and on weekends. And LT has an amazing brand new playground!

It's not nonsense. At Maury the reason the park is open is that a school family has the lock and locks and unlocks the playground in the evenings. Peabody is in a different and more central location, so I think it's fine if they limit the playground more than that.

There is literally nothing about Peabody's playground or location that makes it more reasonable for them to exclude the public.

I live in the neighborhood. I'm fine with them keeping it closed. I assume they have a good reason for it. There are plenty of other options.

No. It's ridiculous that any of the local elementary schools lock their playgrounds on the weekends. They can be great neighborhood meeting points. I wish DCPS would reduce the amount of playground funding for any school that doesn't commit to supporting having the playground open on weekends.

[Anonymous]

No. It's ridiculous that any of the local elementary schools lock their playgrounds on the weekends. They can be great neighborhood meeting points. I wish DCPS would reduce the amount of playground funding for any school that doesn't commit to supporting having the playground open on weekends.



Playground funding? Ha! Parents raise that money...

[Anonymous]

Hi. I know why the Peabody playground came to be closed. My kids are old enough, that I remember when it used to be open. They redid some of the playground equipment--or maybe they put down a new surface-- around 10 or 11 years ago.

A homeless guy started camping out at night and urinating in there. So Brandon Eatman, who was the principal at the time, ordered the playground locked after hours.

My kids are well past playground age, but it's sad that it's still locked up, given how many more small children there are on Capitol Hill today.