By Judy Goddess

On Sept. 26, the Sunset’s famous fog was nowhere to be seen as fifth-graders Ingrid Shettle and Benji Gomes De Mattos, representatives from the Jefferson Elementary School Student Council, cut the red ribbon officially opening the school’s two new playgrounds: one for kindergarten students on Irving Street and the “big kids’ playground” between 18th and 19th avenues.

The ribbon cutting celebrated eight years of planning, design, fundraising and more as they worked to remodel the playgrounds.

“We thought the playgrounds looked sort of shabby. They looked like they needed some love,” said Caroline Flagiello, past president of the Jefferson Parent-Teacher Association and a leader of the project.

“It’s been quite a journey,” she said. “Though they had some suggestions on what could have been done better, my two children voiced one major complaint – that it happened after they left the school.”

Welcoming an enthusiastic crowd of students, parents, staff, supporters and partner agencies, Principal Craig Berger acknowledged that, “this was a collaborative project.” It was a theme that was reiterated by representatives from the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD), the SF Public Utilities Commission and the office of District 7 Supervisor Myrna Melgar – all key partners in the collaboration.

Representatives said the two playgrounds address the district’s priorities of environmental education and experiential learning. The playground equipment is natural, inviting and warm. A vivid, almost block-long student mural celebrates the school and whimsically portrays animals and nature in the surrounding community. Plaques in the big kids’ playground address the importance of drainage and biofields.

“We arranged for Bana Builders to begin tearing up the old playgrounds the day after school closed (in May),” explained Tiffany Gong, the SFUSD project manager for the construction. Surprisingly, for any building project, “their work was 90% completed two months ahead of schedule,” Gong said. “We are just waiting to complete the fence for the kindergarten playground.”

In her introduction, SFUSD Superintendent Dr. Maria Su emphasized the features of the playground’s new water capture system.

“About a swimming pool of rainwater accumulates underground after a good rain,” she said. She quickly added, “no, we are not building you a swimming pool.”

Strategic plantings and rocks at the edges of the playgrounds, she explained, channel rainwater into catchment basins and then into the soil eventually becoming part of the City’s water supply. The renovation spruces up the playgrounds, offers new climbing challenges, multiple fields for sports, shaded areas for talking with friends and is good for the environment, she explained.

“But I know you’d rather be running around than sitting here,” she said, before promising the students that she would be visiting them later in their classrooms.

Though the morning’s celebration was held in the big kids’ playground, the kindergarten playground was also the site of many changes. A slide-like structure, which some adults admit to being afraid to climb on, takes center stage, a gift of Melgar’s participatory budgeting project.

“The infrastructure improvements are a perfect example of District 7 community members coming together with a vision and the City executing it,” Melgar said. “I am so grateful to all the parents, teachers and staff who made this vision a reality and advocated for better open spaces for the next generation.”

To a neighbor walking by, the shrieks of children climbing, running, tossing balls and just sitting and talking, confirmed the value of the renovation. But there were some complaints. While student council representative Ingrid Shettle said enjoys the playground’s new bright colors and the logs and shade umbrellas inviting conversations, she said she was disappointed that the hanging bars were removed.

Third-grader Ryan Savick wanted more challenging climbing equipment. His older sister Rachel Savick expressed environmental concerns with the project, leading a movement to save trees from being demolished in the construction.

“I wanted to save more trees,” she said. “I wrote a petition and gathered 100 signatures.”

While she said she was pleased that two old trees were saved in the kindergarten playground, Rachel had loftier aims of keeping them all. Rachel and Ryan’s mother, Nicole Cook, was more forgiving of the playground’s presence.

“I see children running and jumping on the structures,” Cook said. “I hear them laughing with excitement. The parents who marshalled this through did a good job.”

“We started this project to give a gift to the school,” Flagiello said. “Jefferson is a gem of a school. The teachers are phenomenal. There’s so much energy at pick-up time. It’s such a vibrant community – the playgrounds needed to match that vibrancy.”

Principal Berger was both flowery and pragmatic in his praise.

“The playgrounds transformed the feel of recess, and the amount of joy students experience when they come to school,” he said. “There are areas for sports, climbing, sitting and talking. The surface is smoother and more even, so it’s safer too. We’re not using as many bandages.”

The two playgrounds are open during school hours and for the school’s after-school program.

Jefferson Elementary School is located at 1725 Irving St. Learn more at sfusd.edu/school/jefferson-elementary-school.