Framingham Schools Work With Nonprofit For McCarthy Playground

FRAMINGHAM, MA — Students at McCarthy Elementary School will get a brand new playground. Framingham public schools are teaming up with a national nonprofit to get the job done and help pay for it. A grant program through KaBOOM! nonprofit paired the school with one of their funding partners. Framingham's funding partner is Sierra, an outdoor retail supplier.

KaBOOM! is a national nonprofit dedicated to bringing balanced and active play into the daily lives of all kids. Construction of the playground is scheduled for August 1 and Sierra agreed to donate 200 volunteers to help put the playground together.

"This community-build event is a great opportunity to build and strengthen relationships within the McCarthy School and neighborhood," the district said in a statement.

The district is also asking for help from the community. Volunteers can have a hand in the playground's building as well, with prep days scheduled for July 30th and 31st and build day itself. The district is also accepting monetary donations, you can visit the McCarthy Elementary School website to learn more about this.

Fuller Middle School construction will affect pick-up and drop-off in the school, so McCarthy's parent pick-up / drop-off area will be moved to a new drive-through lane along the side of the building that faces Flagg Drive and Normandy Road, around the Flagg Drive Playground area. Because of this, the front-facing playground was removed and the new playground will be rebuilt in the back of the school. The old playground was ready for an update so this shift came at a great time.

“We are excited to be receiving this grant with the support of KaBOOM! and Sierra and are grateful for the opportunity to both work on a community project and to provide our students and the neighborhood with a new, fun, safe playground for all to play,” said Cynthia Page, Principal of McCarthy Elementary School. “McCarthy's new campus configuration will include additional parking for parents and staff and a separate parent pick-up and drop-off location. Our school community is looking forward to coming together with the community at large to create this amazing new play space!”

On June 6, 2019, KaBOOM! Organized a “Design Day”, which was a four hour planning session. In addition to a one-hour site walkthrough with representatives from KABOOM!, Framingham Public Schools, and UltiPlay; as well as a two-hour parent/adult design session, there was a dedicated session to get ideas and inspiration from students.