San Francisco Shared Schoolyard

The Shared Schoolyard Project is a partnership between the City of San Francisco, the San Francisco Unified School District, and San Francisco’s neighborhoods and communities that envisions and provides for a place for children and families to play and gather within walking distance of every child in San Francisco. Through this unique joint partnership, the City and the School District are able to open schoolyards to the public across the city, with at least one in each of San Francisco’s 11 Supervisorial Districts.

The Shared Schoolyard Project was revamped under the leadership of District 2 Supervisor Mark Farrell, who has led in the fundraising efforts for the project, Mayor Ed Lee, Interim Superintendent Myong Leigh, the San Francisco Unified School District, San Francisco’s Recreation and Parks Department, San Francisco’s Department of Public Works, San Francisco Police Department, and 311 to increase more open space for our children and families to play and gather.

Currently, over 40 public schools citywide are enrolled in the Shared Schoolyard Project. The Shared Schoolyard Project is working to enroll all of San Francisco’s public schools, so that every child and family in San Francisco can have a clean and safe place to play and gather on the weekends.

Enrolling your school in the Shared Schoolyard Project provides so much more than just an open schoolyard for a place to build community.

Our Mission

The Shared Schoolyard Project’s mission is to create more accessible and safe spaces for our children and families to gather and play throughout the City of San Francisco. The Shared Schoolyard Project will encompass every supervisorial district and will succeed through collaborative partnerships with the City of San Francisco, the San Francisco Unified School District, Neighborhoods and Communities, the San Francisco PTA, Corporate Sponsors, and other Non-Governmental and Community Based Organizations. We envision providing a place to play within walking distance of every child in San Francisco.

Upcoming events

Events
- 23
  
  September, 2017 11:00 AM
  
  McKinley Elementary Kick-off Celebration — McKinley Elementary School
  
  More Info
  
  RSVP
- 15
  
  October, 2017 02:30 PM
  
  Longfellow Kickoff — Longfellow Elementary School
  
  More Info
  
  RSVP
Latest from the blog

News & Media

Basketball and burgers at Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School!

Jul 26 · By San Francisco Shared Schoolyard Project · Share

Saturday featured fierce, competitive action as boys and girls of all ages faced off in the San Francisco Shared Schoolyard's first ever 3 v 3 basketball tournament at Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School! Families swarmed the schoolyard from across the city, ready to show off their skills and win fabulous tournament prizes. Every player walked away with a special commemorative t-shirt courtesy of the Golden State Warriors, and the Oakland A's, San Francisco 49ers and San Francisco Giants all contributed prizes to the mid-day raffle!

Teams were given expert guidance, and perhaps a little extra spirit, by our fantastic celebrity coaches: Theo Ellington of the Golden State Warriors, David Jacobsen of the Positive Coaching Alliance, Chris Corgas, Leah Taylor Pimentel, Bruce Agid, Larry Wong and of course Supervisor Mark Farrell joined in the fun coaching his own son's team.

Making a return from their warm reception at Malcolm X Elementary School, Firefighters Local 798 brought back the infamous barbecue firetruck! Reverend Green and Pastor Ishmael Burch manned the grill to everyone's delight, keeping the players and fans energized with delicious hamburgers and hot dogs.

A special thanks goes out to Principal Mike Essien for hosting our exciting tournament and to Supervisor Mark Farrell for his great work in opening up schoolyards across our city. Thank you to all of the teams that competed, as well as the families who came out and cheered on the players. Look out for more San Francisco Shared Schoolyard events coming soon.

Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School is open on weekends from 9:00am to 4:00pm. The schoolyard will be opened by the San Francisco Recreation and Parks department and cleaned by the San Francisco Department of Public Works. For any questions or more information about the San Francisco Shared Schoolyard Project, please contact Amy Randel at randela@sfusd.edu or (415) 308 - 6596.

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Putting the Super in Superhero Schoolyard

Jul 20 · By San Francisco Shared Schoolyard Project · Share

It was an epic weekend at Alvarado Elementary for Superhero Saturday! Families and children from across the city convened in Noe Valley, ready to take on a parkour course, flip around on the aerial rig and practice their high flying skills on the Tumble Track, all provided by the world famous AcroSports.

Girl empowerment and STEM education organizations circled around the acrobatic centerpiece, ready to offer information about their programs to eager parents. Little Artistas added an artistic flair to the awesome costumes with on the spot facepainting. And of course, all of the superheroes and their fans were treated with delicious chicken tenders, barbeque pork sandwiches, veggie wraps courtesy of our friends at the Brickyard. Not to mention, because it was National Mac 'n' Cheese day, there was plenty of the delicious cheesy goodness!

A special thanks goes out to Alvarado's Principal Laurie Murdock and District 8 Supervisor Jeff Sheehy for hosting our exciting costume contest. While the competition was fierce, the prize generously donated from Wee Scott ultimately went to an adorable Batgirl and mysterious wizard.

The Alvarado Elementary school is open on weekends from 9:00am to 4:00pm. The schoolyard will be opened by the San Francisco Recreation and Parks department and cleaned by the San Francisco Department of Public Works. For any questions or more information about the San Francisco Shared Schoolyard Project, please contact Amy Randel at randela@sfusd.edu or (415) 308 - 6596.

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