Nov. 27, 2018
On Oct. 24, the Government of Alberta announced a pilot program primarily for playgrounds that are aging and in need of replacement. School boards were asked to submit a list of five playgrounds that met a list of criteria (see below).
The Calgary Board of Education reviewed schools that conformed to the criteria and submitted the following five schools to the government for consideration under this grant program:
- Taradale School (no existing playground)
- Glenbrook School
- James Short Memorial School
- Abbeydale School
- Catherine Nichols Gunn School
“We know there are more than five schools with the CBE that could benefit from such a program, but we appreciate this measure by the Alberta government to cover the cost of some much-needed playground renewals,” said Dany Breton, Superintendent of Facilities and Environmental Services.”
As soon as the Government of Alberta announces which schools will be provided with funding under this program, the CBE will communicate this exciting information.
Playground Replacement Criteria
- School has a kindergarten to Grade 6 component
- School was not part of the recent playground announcements. The complete list of approved projects can be found at https://education.alberta.ca/school-infrastructure/current-school-projects
- Playground has not received any other government grants such as the Community Facility Enhancement Program grant
- Funding will not be used to reimburse previous expenditures on playground projects
- School does not currently have a playground or the playground will need to be removed within the next few years because it will no longer meet the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) playground standards
Additional supporting criteria were identified by the government as follows (i.e. a playground must meet one or more of these criteria):
- Playground plays an integral part in the physical education program at the school
- Current playground is not suitable for the current grade configuration of the school
- Current playground is too small for the number of students in the schools
- The school has a nutrition program in place for students
