This is something that I have found as a sore point for charter parents and private school parents. They are both more of the suburban drop off type parent than the hanging around neighborhood parent. I've done both or a hybrid of both.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think a playground builds the social fabric of a school, as parents talk while kids run around for a few minutes before pick up and drop off. I am looking forward to what results from the collaboration between parents and admin at Mundo verde to come up with creative solutions to optimize minimum space, which up to now has been a construction zone.

This. You can't replace the immediacy and intimacy that come from getting to know other parents and kids over the years. I've experienced it at another school and I am so reluctant in this case.

The playground at Hearst plays a huge role in the social fabric of the school. Parent enjoy chit chatting while kids run around, and the whole school meets outside prior to the start of the day.

Anonymous wrote:I think a playground builds the social fabric of a school, as parents talk while kids run around for a few minutes before pick up and drop off. I am looking forward to what results from the collaboration between parents and admin at Mundo verde to come up with creative solutions to optimize minimum space, which up to now has been a construction zone.

This. You can't replace the immediacy and intimacy that come from getting to know other parents and kids over the years. I've experienced it at another school and I am so reluctant in this case.

I think a playground builds the social fabric of a school, as parents talk while kids run around for a few minutes before pick up and drop off. I am looking forward to what results from the collaboration between parents and admin at Mundo verde to come up with creative solutions to optimize minimum space, which up to now has been a construction zone.

+1

To me, the challenge of not having a playground on site is that it takes a lot of effort to get to. Too often if the weather is even slightly iffy and the playground is a couple of blocks away, playground time doesn't happen, and I want my kid to make it outside every day. School takes up so much of their day that it's hard to fit in outside of school.

While our physical plant is horrible - we have a great playground with lots of space to play - soccer field, basketball court, play equipment, and hill with lots of trees and green space. Kids love our playground and it is a community building space. Everyone stays to play after school. It is especially important for my son - he and all his friends stay and play numerous sports. Much better than multiple playdates!

Anonymous wrote:We signed our kids up for t-ball, and found that there were a lot of 4 and 5 year olds that looked like they'd never run outside before. It was just plain sad. I wonder if this is symptomatic of so many schools not having a play space.

There are many 4-5 year olds that are very active no matter how much outside/playground time they get in school.

We signed our kids up for t-ball, and found that there were a lot of 4 and 5 year olds that looked like they'd never run outside before. It was just plain sad. I wonder if this is symptomatic of so many schools not having a play space.

Anonymous wrote:They also made good use of the side alley at ITS. Painted hopscotch, four square, had tricycles, imagination blocks, etc.

No playground on site isn't ideal, but not a deal breaker, IMO. Where does MV do PE classes, though? The Florida Ave playground has no field & as kids get older it seems like you need open space for games.

Today at the open house I observed kids playing in the gym.

They also made good use of the side alley at ITS. Painted hopscotch, four square, had tricycles, imagination blocks, etc.

No playground on site isn't ideal, but not a deal breaker, IMO. Where does MV do PE classes, though? The Florida Ave playground has no field & as kids get older it seems like you need open space for games.

Another IT parent- teachers are masters of ingenuity and ensure kids have physical activity. From walks to parks, to playing in the multipurpose room, the kids get at least two periods of physical activity daily.

We found the teachers to be more focused on the social/emotional development than our highly regarded DCPS.

We are at ITS. When we were on Florida we had a 20 foot alley and a park 2 blocks away. The kids were very active and loved walking to the park. They like
exploring the neighborhood. Teachers found clever ways to engage the kids on their 5 min walk. They would count how many red cars they see passing by etc. Honestly, even as a mom of a very active boy, I think having access to a neighborhood park (which usually has more amenities) is just as good. I'm sure MV is trying to make the best of the physical space they have. Look on the bright side they could still be in other building which also involved walking to park. Walking to a city park is not the worst thing. I know many of you have 3 years olds, trust me before you know they will be 5 and wanting to explore even more. Creativity can work miracles.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why do you care? If that's not important to you, then don't prioritize it when looking for a school. If it's important to another family, it can prioritize it.

Please tell me this was posted by a teenager. It's a forum about DCPS and Charter schools. If you don't understand why someone would care then there's nothing anyone can say or do to help you. Other than encourage you to continue to attend classes so one day your brain can understand.

I don't understand why someone would care what another parent prioritizes. The attitude is "I don't prioritize that, so everyone shouldn't." Personally, I don't care about a playground, but if other people do, that's their prerogative. I know someone who put the quality of the food as a major factor in deciding the order of her lottery picks; I would never do that, but I don't care that she did. Don't feel a need to start a thread with "What's up with . . . ?" to judge other parents.

Was the intent to judge, or was the intent to find out from other parents why playgrounds are important to them in case the OP was, in his/her own words, "missing something"? Perhaps a commenter will say something that will OP to reconsider how heavily to weigh playgrounds (or lack thereof).

I don't see how OP's post could be interpreted as looking for info that they might not have thought of. Here are her first two sentences: "What's up with a playground being a deciding factor in the choice of schools? Children go to school for education and to learn, not to play." Seems pretty definitive to me.

At the end of the month MV will have a meeting about what they should do about the "play space" area inbetween both wings of the school.

I did agree with the tour guide that it doesn't make sense to build a playground with only two swings for the amount of kids they have.

Some will use the onsite space and others would still walk to Florida ave. park.

I turned down a spot, but not because of a "playground".