Cooperation and a Little Green

Few things beat the feel of thick, green grass beneath the feet on a clear June day. But for many schoolchildren in the San Fernando Valley, grass playgrounds are a but a fond dream. They play instead on blacktop or on fields so tattered that they show more brown than green. To help remedy the problem, actor Kirk Douglas and his wife, Anne, last year launched a foundation committed to spending $2.5 million upgrading Southern California playgrounds.

Among the first Valley projects completed by an Anne and Kirk Douglas Playground Enhancement Award opened last week at Welby Way Elementary School in West Hills--one of 13 Valley schools in the first round of disbursements. The lush grass and new jungle gym give kids a safe place to play and illustrate how cooperative efforts among charities, public schools and private enterprises can reap big results.

School officials spent a year scraping together $25,000 to earn the maximum amount of matching funds from the Douglas program. They found a contractor--A-G Sod Farms of Palmdale--willing to plant the field for 70% of cost. To encourage innovation, the Douglas fund presents grants annually to any Los Angeles Unified School District campus that belongs to the LEARN program or participates in other reforms, such as accelerated or charter schools.

It’s the right attitude. Everyone benefits when children feel that their campuses are important and that educators take their studies seriously. Sending the message that schools are important means making them look like they are. Amenities as simple as grass and new playground equipment are a start. But they demand attention--not to mention effort and money--from the communities served by public schools. It’s not that difficult. The Douglas awards highlight how much can be done for relatively little.