EVERETT — Parents, businesses and local leaders have rallied to raise enough money to replace worn-down, dangerous play equipment at an elementary school where nine in 10 students come from low-income families and money for such projects is hard to come by.
Everett Public Schools officials expect to have a new playground built at Hawthorne Elementary School by the end of December.
That’s possible due to donations and grants totaling more than $76,000. The Hawthorne Parent Teacher Association raised $26,266, the Howarth Trust contributed $25,000 through the Everett Public Schools Foundation, Snohomish County issued a $16,000 grant, Shaffer Crane put in $5,000 and 22 individual donors raised more than $4,000.
“A lot of private individuals came together and made this possible,” said Leanna Albrecht, a spokeswoman for Everett schools. “It’s really amazing.”
The PTA and school employees plan to pick out new playground equipment soon so it can be installed by the end of 2016.
The current playground at Hawthorne is falling apart. Pieces have cracked, worn, torn or been taken out altogether. Kids have gotten hurt, including broken bones and a partially severed ear from when a child fell on old railroad ties used to contain the wood chips at the playground.
Nearly 90 percent of the students at Hawthorne Elementary come from low-income families and about half of them speak limited English, according to the state Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction.
Parents, teachers and other school employees started raising money for a new playground nearly three years ago. They set a goal of $75,000. As of May, they were up to about $5,000. That number jumped to $60,000 by June, after the condition of the playground was reported in The Herald and other news sources. Businesses, families and anonymous donors stepped up and an online fundraising campaign bolstered the efforts, principal Celia O’Connor-Weaver said.
Herald writer Melissa Slager contributed to this report.
Kari Bray: 425-339-3439; kbray@heraldnet.com.
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