Are most DCPS school fields closed to the public?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not sure why it is so hard for some people to understand that the job of public schools -- while first and foremost is to educate its current students -- is also to be a resource for the broader community.

Throughout my whole adult life, my voting place has been a public school. Community meetings are typically held at the local school. Some public schools house adult education classes in the evenings. Others host youth baseball and soccer leagues. When a disaster strikes, local governments use public schools as staging grounds to provide aid.

When I lived in Columbia Heights, I'd use the Cardozo track in the morning and I'd see a diverse group of people in the neighborhood getting exercise, which was an obvious public health benefit.

Public schools have an obligation to the public. If you don't want the public to use your school, send your kid to a private school.

In other places I've lived this has definitely the case. If you were to tell people that the school that their property taxes paid for could only be used by students, six hours a day, 180 days a year, you'd be laughed out of the room.

But I've also learned that a lot of things that work in other places don't seem to work in DC.

Don't forget before and/or aftercare, schools are used at least 9-10 hours a day.

I don't think that changes the point. That's still a lot of time when a public resource sits unused. It is cheaper for the city to use school facilities for weekend and evening activities than to build separate community centers that probably sit unused during most of the work/school day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not sure why it is so hard for some people to understand that the job of public schools -- while first and foremost is to educate its current students -- is also to be a resource for the broader community.

Throughout my whole adult life, my voting place has been a public school. Community meetings are typically held at the local school. Some public schools house adult education classes in the evenings. Others host youth baseball and soccer leagues. When a disaster strikes, local governments use public schools as staging grounds to provide aid.

When I lived in Columbia Heights, I'd use the Cardozo track in the morning and I'd see a diverse group of people in the neighborhood getting exercise, which was an obvious public health benefit.

Public schools have an obligation to the public. If you don't want the public to use your school, send your kid to a private school.

In other places I've lived this has definitely the case. If you were to tell people that the school that their property taxes paid for could only be used by students, six hours a day, 180 days a year, you'd be laughed out of the room.

But I've also learned that a lot of things that work in other places don't seem to work in DC.

Don't forget before and/or aftercare, schools are used at least 9-10 hours a day.

I don't think that changes the point. That's still a lot of time when a public resource sits unused. It is cheaper for the city to use school facilities for weekend and evening activities than to build separate community centers that probably sit unused during most of the work/school day.

There are already rec centers and it's not cheaper for all the reasons folks mention ... if you want your kids to have a clean space come morning then it needs to be locked at night or weekend. Schools already have cut their custodian budgets

[Anonymous]

The city pays for maintenance of parks, rec centers and schools. They just don't seem to do a good job at any of it so I was just making the point that there could be efficiencies. But they obviously need to allocate more money across the board. The city doesn't have enough fields for the growing public demand even when you include school fields thanks to the same baby boom/population growth that has caused overcrowding in many schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The city pays for maintenance of parks, rec centers and schools. They just don't seem to do a good job at any of it so I was just making the point that there could be efficiencies. But they obviously need to allocate more money across the board. The city doesn't have enough fields for the growing public demand even when you include school fields thanks to the same baby boom/population growth that has caused overcrowding in many schools.

You are delusional. There are more than enough fields and playgrounds. The only ones that colonizers seem to be fretting over are the ones on newly renovated school grounds.

[Anonymous]

Schools sometimes use city fields and playgrounds. if schools are going to use city playgrounds it stands to reason that the community could also use schools' playgrounds. I do think it makes sense for DCPR to pay some additional for any extra costs associated with that use. This would particularly make sense in Mt Pleasant, which has no playground.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The city pays for maintenance of parks, rec centers and schools. They just don't seem to do a good job at any of it so I was just making the point that there could be efficiencies. But they obviously need to allocate more money across the board. The city doesn't have enough fields for the growing public demand even when you include school fields thanks to the same baby boom/population growth that has caused overcrowding in many schools.

You are delusional. There are more than enough fields and playgrounds. The only ones that colonizers seem to be fretting over are the ones on newly renovated school grounds.

There is a pretty severe shortage of athletic field space, at least during the sports seasons. At least for rectangular fields, they are booked pretty much continuously and the natural grass ones suffer from overuse.

DPR has a problem that roughly two thirds of their fields are baseball fields and are only permitted for "diamond sports" -- baseball, softball and kickball. Those fields are lightly used. The rectangular fields are heavily used.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The city pays for maintenance of parks, rec centers and schools. They just don't seem to do a good job at any of it so I was just making the point that there could be efficiencies. But they obviously need to allocate more money across the board. The city doesn't have enough fields for the growing public demand even when you include school fields thanks to the same baby boom/population growth that has caused overcrowding in many schools.

You are delusional. There are more than enough fields and playgrounds. The only ones that colonizers seem to be fretting over are the ones on newly renovated school grounds.

My spouse coaches a youth rec league team and finding a field -- any field -- to practice on is a challenge. DC's population had grown by 100,000 in the last decade. I'm not sure if these people are colonizers (?), but they're certainly not proving to be couch potatoes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The city pays for maintenance of parks, rec centers and schools. They just don't seem to do a good job at any of it so I was just making the point that there could be efficiencies. But they obviously need to allocate more money across the board. The city doesn't have enough fields for the growing public demand even when you include school fields thanks to the same baby boom/population growth that has caused overcrowding in many schools.

You are delusional. There are more than enough fields and playgrounds. The only ones that colonizers seem to be fretting over are the ones on newly renovated school grounds.

My spouse coaches a youth rec league team and finding a field -- any field -- to practice on is a challenge. DC's population had grown by 100,000 in the last decade. I'm not sure if these people are colonizers (?), but they're certainly not proving to be couch potatoes.

For the folks here that are just looking for a place for their kid to burn off some energy, there are plenty of fields and playgrounds. The zoo and RCP are also a short walk from Mt. Pleasant.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The city pays for maintenance of parks, rec centers and schools. They just don't seem to do a good job at any of it so I was just making the point that there could be efficiencies. But they obviously need to allocate more money across the board. The city doesn't have enough fields for the growing public demand even when you include school fields thanks to the same baby boom/population growth that has caused overcrowding in many schools.

You are delusional. There are more than enough fields and playgrounds. The only ones that colonizers seem to be fretting over are the ones on newly renovated school grounds.

My spouse coaches a youth rec league team and finding a field -- any field -- to practice on is a challenge. DC's population had grown by 100,000 in the last decade. I'm not sure if these people are colonizers (?), but they're certainly not proving to be couch potatoes.

For the folks here that are just looking for a place for their kid to burn off some energy, there are plenty of fields and playgrounds. The zoo and RCP are also a short walk from Mt. Pleasant.

If by field you mean, "an are of open land," perhaps. If you mean athletic field -- or even a spot that is reasonably level, reasonably flat, free of obstructions and reasonably large -- there is a severe shortage.

Until kids are in at least middle elementary years just turning them loose in the forest probably isn't a good idea. Parents want an area that is reasonably free of hazards, entertaining, and enclosed by a fence so the kids don't wander off.

Again, these are amenities that other places seem capable of providing for their citizens, but DC seems to have great difficulty with.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The city pays for maintenance of parks, rec centers and schools. They just don't seem to do a good job at any of it so I was just making the point that there could be efficiencies. But they obviously need to allocate more money across the board. The city doesn't have enough fields for the growing public demand even when you include school fields thanks to the same baby boom/population growth that has caused overcrowding in many schools.

You are delusional. There are more than enough fields and playgrounds. The only ones that colonizers seem to be fretting over are the ones on newly renovated school grounds.

My spouse coaches a youth rec league team and finding a field -- any field -- to practice on is a challenge. DC's population had grown by 100,000 in the last decade. I'm not sure if these people are colonizers (?), but they're certainly not proving to be couch potatoes.

For the folks here that are just looking for a place for their kid to burn off some energy, there are plenty of fields and playgrounds. The zoo and RCP are also a short walk from Mt. Pleasant.

In 2014 DC DPR did a master facilities plan, you can read it at: https://dpr.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/dpr/publication/attachments/DCPRMP_VisionDocument_web_0.pdf

One of the things they did (on page 28) is compare the amount of land per person dedicated to parks and recreation with nine other large US cities -- Minneapolis, Los Angeles, Seattle, Boston, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Long Beach, San Francisco and New York City. If you look at total parkland, DC is second only to Minneapolis with 12.4 acres per person. But only 10% of the open space in DC is controlled by DPR -- 74% is controlled by NPS and the rest by other agencies. For example the National Arboretum is run by the Department of Agriculture.

If you only count DPR, DC has by far the lowest amount of space per person of any large city, 1.5 acres per person. NY City is next with 4.6 and the average is 8.1. If you look at the NPS land, a lot of it is used for non-recreational purposes -- Rock Creek Parkway and the GW Parkway are NPS land. And for the most part, most NPS land devoted to recreation allows only one recreational activity, walking. They have lots of space, but not lots of recreational facilities.

If you want a playground for your kids, or a place to knock a ball around, your choices are DPR facilities or a DCPS school. And DC is severely underserved when it comes to those spaces.

[Anonymous]

That report explains why some people on this thread think there's plenty of play space and other's don't It varies widely by neighborhood and Mount Pleasant is one of the under-resourced areas.

There was open space near Mount Pleasant at 17th and Piney Branch that served as a workable make-shift soccer field. You'd regularly see mostly Latino men playing pick up games there, and it was a great resource for the community. Until the NPS decided to plant trees throughout the whole space.

The NPS doesn't care if people in nearby neighborhoods have places to play sports. That's not their mandate. They assume that's the domain of DPR and DCPS, which unfortunately don't have much space in many neighborhoods, or regularly keep fields locked.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That report explains why some people on this thread think there's plenty of play space and other's don't It varies widely by neighborhood and Mount Pleasant is one of the under-resourced areas.

There was open space near Mount Pleasant at 17th and Piney Branch that served as a workable make-shift soccer field. You'd regularly see mostly Latino men playing pick up games there, and it was a great resource for the community. Until the NPS decided to plant trees throughout the whole space.

The NPS doesn't care if people in nearby neighborhoods have places to play sports. That's not their mandate. They assume that's the domain of DPR and DCPS, which unfortunately don't have much space in many neighborhoods, or regularly keep fields locked.

It makes me think that the people on this thread who think there's plenty of play space work for the city. Folks at DPR insist there's no shortage, even while they're asked to mediate intense battles over fields space; people who complain about not having fields are just "whiny." DCPS insists there's no need to open their space to the public, go to DPR. Meanwhile, look at the numbers, there's an objective shortage of recreational space.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That report explains why some people on this thread think there's plenty of play space and other's don't It varies widely by neighborhood and Mount Pleasant is one of the under-resourced areas.

There was open space near Mount Pleasant at 17th and Piney Branch that served as a workable make-shift soccer field. You'd regularly see mostly Latino men playing pick up games there, and it was a great resource for the community. Until the NPS decided to plant trees throughout the whole space.

The NPS doesn't care if people in nearby neighborhoods have places to play sports. That's not their mandate. They assume that's the domain of DPR and DCPS, which unfortunately don't have much space in many neighborhoods, or regularly keep fields locked.

It makes me think that the people on this thread who think there's plenty of play space work for the city. Folks at DPR insist there's no shortage, even while they're asked to mediate intense battles over fields space; people who complain about not having fields are just "whiny." DCPS insists there's no need to open their space to the public, go to DPR. Meanwhile, look at the numbers, there's an objective shortage of recreational space.

Athletic fields are completely different from playgrounds! Sure there are a shortage of fields for games but not for young kids to play if parents used a bit of imagination. Yes it would be wonderful if DCPS could open up playgrounds for everyone to use but completely unrealistic in this day and age. As others have mentioned upkeep, maintenance, safely issues ... not something DCPS needs to take on board right now! They can't even get education right never-mind this... Athletic fields yes, more collab between DPR and DCPS and community organizations!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That report explains why some people on this thread think there's plenty of play space and other's don't It varies widely by neighborhood and Mount Pleasant is one of the under-resourced areas.

There was open space near Mount Pleasant at 17th and Piney Branch that served as a workable make-shift soccer field. You'd regularly see mostly Latino men playing pick up games there, and it was a great resource for the community. Until the NPS decided to plant trees throughout the whole space.

The NPS doesn't care if people in nearby neighborhoods have places to play sports. That's not their mandate. They assume that's the domain of DPR and DCPS, which unfortunately don't have much space in many neighborhoods, or regularly keep fields locked.

It makes me think that the people on this thread who think there's plenty of play space work for the city. Folks at DPR insist there's no shortage, even while they're asked to mediate intense battles over fields space; people who complain about not having fields are just "whiny." DCPS insists there's no need to open their space to the public, go to DPR. Meanwhile, look at the numbers, there's an objective shortage of recreational space.

Athletic fields are completely different from playgrounds! Sure there are a shortage of fields for games but not for young kids to play if parents used a bit of imagination. Yes it would be wonderful if DCPS could open up playgrounds for everyone to use but completely unrealistic in this day and age. As others have mentioned upkeep, maintenance, safely issues ... not something DCPS needs to take on board right now! They can't even get education right never-mind this... Athletic fields yes, more collab between DPR and DCPS and community organizations!

And yet, somehow, we magically do it on the Hill.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That report explains why some people on this thread think there's plenty of play space and other's don't It varies widely by neighborhood and Mount Pleasant is one of the under-resourced areas.

There was open space near Mount Pleasant at 17th and Piney Branch that served as a workable make-shift soccer field. You'd regularly see mostly Latino men playing pick up games there, and it was a great resource for the community. Until the NPS decided to plant trees throughout the whole space.

The NPS doesn't care if people in nearby neighborhoods have places to play sports. That's not their mandate. They assume that's the domain of DPR and DCPS, which unfortunately don't have much space in many neighborhoods, or regularly keep fields locked.

It makes me think that the people on this thread who think there's plenty of play space work for the city. Folks at DPR insist there's no shortage, even while they're asked to mediate intense battles over fields space; people who complain about not having fields are just "whiny." DCPS insists there's no need to open their space to the public, go to DPR. Meanwhile, look at the numbers, there's an objective shortage of recreational space.

Athletic fields are completely different from playgrounds! Sure there are a shortage of fields for games but not for young kids to play if parents used a bit of imagination. Yes it would be wonderful if DCPS could open up playgrounds for everyone to use but completely unrealistic in this day and age. As others have mentioned upkeep, maintenance, safely issues ... not something DCPS needs to take on board right now! They can't even get education right never-mind this... Athletic fields yes, more collab between DPR and DCPS and community organizations!

And yet, somehow, we magically do it on the Hill.

And in towns, cities and counties all over the country. But it's just not possible in this day and age.

This is why I think the naysayer is a DC government employee. The two mantras of the DC government:
1. The real problem is the whiny residents, not the government's inability to solve problems.
2. Things that work in other places don't work here.