SCRANTON — A second schoolyard in South Side has been transformed from an underused outdoor space into a vibrant school and neighborhood asset that second-graders helped design.
The community of the John G. Whittier Elementary School, 700 Orchard St., and officials from the Scranton School District, the city and nonprofit organizations on Tuesday celebrated the recently completed $800,000 conversion of a sloped lot behind the school into a playground and outdoor classroom/green space that will benefit the school’s 400 pupils and the neighborhood. When school is not in session, the schoolyard will be open to the surrounding community, providing an accessible outdoor space for about 4,100 residents who live within a 10-minute walk of the school.
Scranton Mayor Pa9ge Cognetti discusses the opening of a new Community Schoolyard at John G. Whittier Elementary School in Scranton on Tuesday, October 20, 2026. (CHAD SEBRING/STAFF PHOTO)
Valley in Motion’s Alyssa Kelley talks about the opening of a new Community Schoolyard at John G. Whittier Elementary School in Scranton on Tuesday, October 20, 2026. (CHAD SEBRING/STAFF PHOTO)
Valley in Motion’s Alyssa Kelley talks about the opening of a new Community Schoolyard at John G. Whittier Elementary School in Scranton on Tuesday, October 20, 2026. (CHAD SEBRING/STAFF PHOTO)
Scranton School Board President Tom Borthwick discusses the opening of a new Community Schoolyard at John G. Whittier Elementary School in Scranton on Tuesday, October 20, 2026. (CHAD SEBRING/STAFF PHOTO)
Scranton Superintendent Erin Keating discusses the opening of a new Community Schoolyard at John G. Whittier Elementary School in Scranton on Tuesday, October 20, 2026. The project marks the city’s second Community Schoolyard, transforming traditional schoolyard space into a green space with inclusive play equipment, walking paths, an outdoor classroom, and new trees and native plantings.
(CHAD SEBRING/STAFF PHOTO)
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Scranton Mayor Pa9ge Cognetti discusses the opening of a new Community Schoolyard at John G. Whittier Elementary School in Scranton on Tuesday, October 20, 2026. (CHAD SEBRING/STAFF PHOTO)
The project was similar to one completed last year at the John F. Kennedy Elementary School at 2200 Prospect Ave., also in South Side. Both projects involved collaboration by the Trust for Public Land, the Scranton School District, the city of Scranton and the nonprofit Valley in Motion, as well as donations from various entities.
In the Kennedy schoolyard project, pupils from that school helped design the transformation of an asphalt parking lot behind the school into a modern playground and 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 Kennedy school fronting on Prospect Avenue.
Similarly, the Whittier schoolyard space — which is behind the school between Galvin Place and Hemlock Street — had design input from second-graders, school staff and community members. The Whittier schoolyard provides outdoor recreation and learning opportunities for students and residents.
The Whittier schoolyard property has a fairly large drop in elevation between Galvin Place and Hemlock Street below. In rainy weather, the lot behind the school used to become very wet and muddy and essentially unusable. The project incorporated green infrastructure to better manage stormwater runoff at the schoolyard, which now is a vibrant green space with inclusive play equipment, walking paths, an outdoor classroom, lawn areas, new trees and native plantings and a rain garden.
Scranton School District Superintendent Erin Keating, Ed.D., spoke of the vital nature of outdoor playtime as a key component of childhood education, development and growing up with social interaction.
“It’s really important for kids to be kids. Play is not just a break from learning, it’s the development of social skills and social interaction, it’s learning how to navigate things on your own as a child, how to make compromise, and how to do so many other things that only happen in elements like the playground that exists” now at the Whittier schoolyard, Keating said. “For too long here at Whittier, our students did not have the type of playground that they deserve. Every child should have access to a safe and welcoming environment like the one that exists (there) now.”
Keating and others noted how pupils helping design the concepts of the schoolyard and seeing it come to life will stay with them all of their lives.
“I am awed by the creativity and consideration of our kids. The fact that kids took the lead here means that they own it,” school board President Tom Borthwick said.
Alyssa Kelley, a project manager with the local nonprofit Valley in Motion community improvement organization, told how the entire schoolyard project was a learning experience for pupils on several levels. They learned in a classroom about responsive design and construction budgets, they learned in a trunk-or-treat event and community survey about community engagement, and they learned at Roaring Brook in Nay Aug Park about the natural world and specifically about the Chesapeake Bay watershed and the impacts that stormwater here has throughout the neighborhoods, the city and larger region, Kelley said.
“In each instance, they were learning that this project was more than just a playground at a single site. It is connected physically and socially to the community around it, to the people and the environment, to flora and fauna and friends alike,” Kelley said.
Mayor Paige G. Cognetti also noted how the spate of park improvements in recent years in the city and at the two schoolyards have all created unique attributes at each one, such as rock walls, slides, trails, rain gardens or thematic colors. Whittier’s upgrade fashioned slides and stormwater facets into the sloping topography.
“For you guys at Whittier, you have that special, special gift that this is always going to be yours and this was always something that you designed and you gave back to the community at such a young age and we are so, so very proud of you,” Cognetti said.
The John G. Whittier Elementary School in South Scranton held after a ceremonial ribbon-cutting Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2026 of a project that transformed the outdoor space behind the school into a vibrant playground, green space, outdoor classroom and neighborhood asset. The project was a collaboration of the Scranton School District, the city of Scranton, the Trust for Public Land and Valley in Motion, and several donors. Scranton Mayor Paige G. Cognetti, in center between the two slides, looks over that new feature built into the slope of the site. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
The nonprofit Trust for Public Land is a national organization committed to creating parks and protecting land for people, to ensure healthy, livable communities. Trust for Public Land Associate Vice President and Pennsylvania State Director Elizabeth Class-Maldonado said, “Community schoolyards are about making sure every child has a place to play, learn, and connect with nature close to home. By working alongside Whittier students, school staff and community members, we’ve created a space that reflects what this neighborhood wants and needs. We’re excited to see this schoolyard become a resource for students and families throughout South Scranton for years to come.”
She and others noted how the project would not have been possible without the collaboration of the organizers, as well as outside donor organizations. The city supported both schoolyard projects, at Kennedy and Whittier, with $250,000 each, for a total of $500,000 in seed funding from federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds allocated to the city. Financial support also came from The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, Scranton Area Community Foundation, The Robert H. Spitz Foundation, PPL Electric Utilities, Hawk Family Foundation, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and EPA Thriving Communities Grantmaking Program.
“This is the kind of partnership that we hope continues to flourish because it only benefits our community and especially our kids,” Borthwick said. “Being able to hopefully continue replicating that across the district is something I think that we all can look forward to and want to work toward.”
A third collaborative schoolyard improvement project, for the Frances Willard Elementary School, 1100 Eynon St. in West Scranton, also is in planning stages, hopefully for 2027, but which will depend on being able to come up with funding. In March, the city approved seeking a $500,000 grant for the Willard project. It calls for converting a nearly 20,000-square-foot, all-asphalt area in the rear of the school along Hampton Street into a high-quality recreational community asset with green stormwater improvements, shade trees, playground, basketball courts and outdoor learning space. Designed by Willard students and neighbors, this schoolyard also would be open to the public after school hours, providing outdoor recreation for the 380 pupils there and 4,800 residents who live within a 10-minute walk of that school.
Pupils at the John G. Whittier Elementary School in South Scranton lead the Pledge of Allegiance on Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2026 during a ceremonial ribbon-cutting of a schoolyard improvement project that transformed the outdoor space behind the school into a vibrant playground, green space, outdoor classroom and neighborhood asset. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
Pupils at the John G. Whittier Elementary School in South Scranton play in their newly improved schoolyard on Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2026, after a ceremonial ribbon-cutting of the project that transformed the outdoor space behind the school into a vibrant playground, green space, outdoor classroom and neighborhood asset. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
Pupils at the John G. Whittier Elementary School in South Scranton play in their newly improved schoolyard on Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2026, after a ceremonial ribbon-cutting of the project that transformed the outdoor space behind the school into a vibrant playground, green space, outdoor classroom and neighborhood asset. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
Pupils at the John G. Whittier Elementary School in South Scranton attend a ceremonial ribbon-cutting on Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2026, of a schoolyard improvement project that transformed the outdoor space behind the school into a vibrant playground, green space, outdoor classroom and neighborhood asset. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
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Pupils at the John G. Whittier Elementary School in South Scranton lead the Pledge of Allegiance on Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2026 during a ceremonial ribbon-cutting of a schoolyard improvement project that transformed the outdoor space behind the school into a vibrant playground, green space, outdoor classroom and neighborhood asset. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
A stormwater rain garden detention area in the newly revamped schoolyard at the John G. Whittier Elementary School in South Scranton, which held after a ceremonial ribbon-cutting Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2026 of a project that transformed the outdoor space behind the school (seen in background) into a vibrant playground, green space, outdoor classroom and neighborhood asset. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
A picnic table and playground in the newly revamped schoolyard at the John G. Whittier Elementary School in South Scranton, which held after a ceremonial ribbon-cutting Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2026 of a project that transformed the outdoor space behind the school (seen in background) into a vibrant playground, green space, outdoor classroom and neighborhood asset. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
The lower portion of the sloping schoolyard at the John G. Whittier Elementary School in South Scranton, which held after a ceremonial ribbon-cutting Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2026 of a project that transformed the outdoor space behind the school (seen in background) into a vibrant playground, green space, outdoor classroom and neighborhood asset. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
A stormwater rain garden detention area in the newly revamped schoolyard at the John G. Whittier Elementary School in South Scranton, which held after a ceremonial ribbon-cutting Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2026 of a project that transformed the outdoor space behind the school (seen in background) into a vibrant playground, green space, outdoor classroom and neighborhood asset. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
The John G. Whittier Elementary School in South Scranton held after a ceremonial ribbon-cutting Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2026 of a project that transformed the outdoor space behind the school into a vibrant playground, green space, outdoor classroom and neighborhood asset. The project was a collaboration of the Scranton School District, the city of Scranton, the Trust for Public Land and Valley in Motion, and several donors. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
The John G. Whittier Elementary School in South Scranton held after a ceremonial ribbon-cutting Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2026 of a project that transformed the outdoor space behind the school into a vibrant playground, green space, outdoor classroom and neighborhood asset. The project was a collaboration of the Scranton School District, the city of Scranton, the Trust for Public Land and Valley in Motion, and several donors. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
The John G. Whittier Elementary School in South Scranton held after a ceremonial ribbon-cutting Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2026 of a project that transformed the outdoor space behind the school into a vibrant playground, green space, outdoor classroom and neighborhood asset. The project was a collaboration of the Scranton School District, the city of Scranton, the Trust for Public Land and Valley in Motion, and several donors. Scranton Mayor Paige G. Cognetti, in center between the two slides, looks over that new feature built into the slope of the site. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
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A stormwater rain garden detention area in the newly revamped schoolyard at the John G. Whittier Elementary School in South Scranton, which held after a ceremonial ribbon-cutting Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2026 of a project that transformed the outdoor space behind the school (seen in background) into a vibrant playground, green space, outdoor classroom and neighborhood asset. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
Student Mishita Patel puts the shovel back into the ground after a groundbreaking ceremony for a new playground at John G. Whittier Elementary School in Scranton Thursday, May 28, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Elizabeth Class-Maldonado, associate vice president and Pennsylvania state director for the Trust for Public Land, puts hard hats on students during the playground groundbreaking ceremony at John G. Whittier Elementary School in Scranton Thursday, May 28, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Superintendent of Scranton School District Erin Keating speaks during a groundbreaking ceremony for a new playground at John G. Whittier Elementary School in Scranton Thursday, May 28, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
John G. Whittier Elementary School Principal Andrea Musto speaks during a groundbreaking ceremony for a new playground that will be installed in the back of the school in Scranton Thursday, May 28, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
The John G. Whittier Elementary School in Scranton on Thursday, June 19, 2025. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
The John G. Whittier Elementary School in Scranton on Thursday, June 19, 2025. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
The John G. Whittier Elementary School in Scranton on Thursday, June 19, 2025. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
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Student Mishita Patel puts the shovel back into the ground after a groundbreaking ceremony for a new playground at John G. Whittier Elementary School in Scranton Thursday, May 28, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)