SCRANTON — Pupils at the John F. Kennedy Elementary School in South Side who helped design the transformation of a parking lot there into a vibrant schoolyard with a modern playground also helped cut the ribbon Friday during a grand opening.
In the works for the past three years, a former asphalt lot at the rear of the school now has become an oasis for play, as well as a community park space for the 2,500 residents who live within a 10-minute walk of the school fronting on Prospect Avenue.
A collaboration of the Scranton School District, the city of Scranton, the local nonprofit Valley in Motion and the nationwide Trust for Public Land, the project two years ago called upon third-graders to give input on what they would like to see in a playground replacing the parking lot along Winfield Avenue.
“This is even better than I pictured. You guys did such an incredible job,” Scranton Mayor Paige Gebhardt Cognetti said to pupils who helped design the new schoolyard and attended the grand opening Friday.
Tess Lewis, 11, a fifth grader at the South Scranton Intermediate School, was one of the pupils of the John F. Kennedy Elementary School in Scranton who as a third-grader helped design the new schoolyard at the JFK school and attended the ribbon cutting with classmates. She said she is very happy with the transformation of the space.
“We wanted all the playground parts to be on softer ground,” because the surface previously was all paved.
The $775,000 cost of the JFK Elementary School project is funded with $500,000 from the city, from its federal American Rescue Plan Act dollars. The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, Moses Taylor Foundation, Scranton Area Community Foundation, The Robert H. Spitz Foundation and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation also contributed.
Commenting on the numerous entities and sponsors involved, Cognetti said, “Everybody put the team together, to put the puzzle pieces in there to make this happen. The most important thing was that you guys got to be involved and we’re so proud of the work that you did.”
School officials spoke of playtime as a key component of education.
“These are the kinds of things that make coming to school more enjoyable and have that small fraction of the day where you step away from traditional learning to be able to learn in a whole new environment,” Scranton School District Superintendent Erin Keating, Ed.D. said.
The poured-in place rubbery surface will need a few days to cure before children can use the playground.
“Play is really the work of childhood,” JFK school Principal Nora Phillips said. “Our children at JFK are now able to get to work” at play in the revamped schoolyard.
Gus Fahey of Valley in Motion noted how the schoolyard is no longer an old-school kind of space.
“We were used to just sort of flat, asphalt playgrounds. Now we’re not going to accept that anymore. This is the new standard that we are going to give to the children of the next generation,” Fahey said.
Owen Franklin of The Trust for Public Land described the schoolyard as an asset for community development and strengthening connections.
“This is a model for partnership and impact,” Franklin said.
Fahey also referenced two similar schoolyard playground transformations ahead, at the Whitter and Willard schools. The city has federal American Rescue Plan Act money earmarked for the Whittier project, he said. A $350,000 federal Environmental Protection Agency grant for the Willard school project was awarded via a nationwide competition, but that funding recently was eliminated, Fahey said, noting he was announcing that loss.
“That money that we won was taken away from us on a national level,” Fahey told the crowd. “So what are we going to do? Are we not going to build the next playground?”
Several people in the crowd responded ‘No,’ meaning that project will get done somehow.
“We’re going to figure it out,” Cognetti replied.
Gus Fahey, president of Valley in Motion, makes remarks at the opening of a new community schoolyard June 6, 2025, at John F. Kennedy Elementary School in South Scranton. (CHAD SEBRING/STAFF PHOTO)
John F. Kennedy Elementary School students listen to speakers talk about a newly build playground at the school. (CHAD SEBRING/STAFF PHOTO)
Children who two years ago while in third grade helped design a new community schoolyard playground at John F. Kennedy Elementary School in Scranton participated in a ribbon-cutting during a grand-opening celebration of the schoolyard on Friday, June 6, 2025. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
The new community schoolyard playground at John F. Kennedy Elementary School in Scranton during a ribbon-cutting and grand-opening celebration on Friday, June 6, 2025. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti listens to remarks at the opening of a new community schoolyard June 6, 2025, at John F. Kennedy Elementary School in South Scranton. (CHAD SEBRING/STAFF PHOTO)
Owen Franklin of Trust for Public Land discusses the dedication of a new playground at at John F. Kennedy Elementary School in South Scranton. (CHAD SEBRING/STAFF PHOTO)
Gus Fahey, president of Valley in Motion, makes remarks as Trust for Public Land, Scranton School District and Mayor Paige Cognetti open a new community schoolyard June 6, 2025, at John F. Kennedy Elementary School in South Scranton. (CHAD SEBRING/STAFF PHOTO)
Scranton Mayor Paige Gebhardt Cognetti, at podium, introduces and shakes hands with Gus Fahey of Valley in Motion during a ribbon-cutting and grand-opening celebration of the new community schoolyard playground, in background, at John F. Kennedy Elementary School in Scranton on Friday, June 6, 2025. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
The new community schoolyard playground at John F. Kennedy Elementary School in Scranton during a ribbon-cutting and grand-opening celebration on Friday, June 6, 2025. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
The new community schoolyard playground at John F. Kennedy Elementary School in Scranton during a ribbon-cutting and grand-opening celebration on Friday, June 6, 2025. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
Tess Lewis, 11, a fifth grader at the South Scranton Intermediate School, was one of the pupils of the John F. Kennedy Elementary School in Scranton two years ago while in third grade there helped design a new community schoolyard playground at the Kennedy school. Tess and former Kennedy school classmates participated Friday, June 6, 2025 in a ribbon-cutting during a grand-opening celebration of the new schoolyard. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)