The new playspace brings joy to hundreds of kids after months of playground closures

(Dallas, Texas – November 20, 2020) – Kids at Trinity Basin Preparatory in Dallas are celebrating today because they have a great new place to play. For months, representatives from Trinity Basin Preparatory, Morgan Stanley and KABOOM!, the nonprofit organization focused on ending playspace inequity, have been working together to increase access to playspaces for local kids with the creation of a new, kiddesigned playground that was installed. The playground will give kids an incredible place to play close to where they live and learn, an opportunity that is often hard to achieve.

Trinity Basin Preparty (TBP) is a district of free public charter schools with 7 campuses throughout DFW, serving over 3,850 students. The Ledbetter campus serves 433 PK-3 through 8th grade students in the Oak Cliff neighborhood, where residents of the community have an average income below $28,000 per year. As a district, 90.1% of TBP students come from economically disadvantaged families, 60.6% are English Language Learners, and 73.7% are classified by the Texas Education Agency as “at-risk”.

“Trinity Basin-Ledbetter is beyond excited to have an opportunity to participate in the KABOOM playground initiative!” Ledbetter campus principal Angela Humphrey said. “Our current playground is an old wooden structure that has a myriad of cracks and splinters. Trips to the nurse’s office are frequent due to the setup and arrangement of the structure.”

Approximately 30% of TBP students returned to In-Person instruction on September 8 after having been away from campus since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in mid-March.

“During the early spring, we were not quite sure what was going to happen with our build day, which was scheduled for May 1,” Humphrey said. “Ultimately that date was cancelled out of an abundance of caution due to the pandemic. The campus was relieved to find out that we could still receive the new playground equipment under the new conditions, so the original build day became a build week!”

In March, kids from the community participated in a Design Day where they creatively thought of ideas to create their dream playground. The new playground, which was designed with inspiration from their drawings, will provide hundreds of kids and their families in Dallas with an incredible playspace that can spark hope and enable kids to reach their full potential.

“Since the return of students on September 8, the playground has been closed and recess has taken on a new normal,” Humphrey said. “So the introduction of the new equipment will have a much anticipated welcome!”

KABOOM! knows that playspaces are essential to resilience, health and childhood, and the communities who have been hit the hardest by COVID-19 – communities facing challenges already, and communities of color – are the same communities who often lack access to parks and playspaces due to historic disinvestment. The partners have teamed up to help end playspace inequity, creating a new place for kids to play that reflects the neighborhood’s unique needs and aspirations, and gives every kid the opportunity to experience the joys of childhood.

“We know disasters and crises often exacerbate the inequities that communities are already experiencing, and in many communities, kids won’t have a playground to go back to once the COVID-19 crisis is over,” says James Siegal, CEO of KABOOM!. “We must stop the playspace inequities from becoming even deeper after we get through this pandemic, giving every kid the chance to play and just enjoy being a kid.”

This playground is part of a broader effort led by Morgan Stanley and KABOOM! to ensure communities have great PLAYces for kids and families. Through this partnership, KABOOM! and the Morgan Stanley Foundation are committed to ending playspace inequity for kids, for communities, for good.

“We are proud to partner with KABOOM! to provide the Dallas community with a play space that will deliver a long-lasting positive impact in the lives of young people through safe and fun play,” said Steve Austin, Regional Director of Morgan Stanley’s Central Region. “At Morgan Stanley, giving back is part of our DNA and with partners like KABOOM! we are able to make an impact in the communities that need it most and provide children with the healthy building blocks for lifelong achievement.”

To ensure that playgrounds are able to open safely in every community, KABOOM! has issued important playground guidance that all communities, playground owner/operators and caregivers can follow. The guidance can be viewed or downloaded at kaboom.org/reopen.

About Trinity Basin Preparatory

For families seeking a better kind of free public school, Trinity Basin Preparatory partners with you and your child to provide the best opportunity to learn and grow, because we are devoted to providing the care that leads to lasting student success. Trinity Basin Preparatory is a free public charter school of choice that serves over 3,800 students by providing a safe, disciplined learning environment designed to meet all individual academic, physical and emotional needs. We have four campuses in Dallas (all in Oak Cliff), two in Fort Worth, and one school in Mesquite. To learn more about Trinity Basin Preparatory or to enroll today at one of TBP’s schools, visit www.trinitybasin.com.

About Funding Partner

Morgan Stanley is a leading global financial services firm providing investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services. With offices in more than 41 countries, the Firm's employees serve clients worldwide including corporations, governments, institutions and individuals. For more information about Morgan Stanley, please visit www.morganstanley.com.

About KABOOM!

KABOOM! is the national non-profit that works to achieve playspace equity. Kids who don’t have access to play miss out on childhood and are denied critical opportunities to build physical, social and emotional health. And all too often, it more deeply affects communities of color. So we amplify the power of communities to build inspiring playspaces that spark unlimited opportunities for every kid, everywhere. KABOOM! has teamed up with partners to build or improve 17,000+ playspaces, engage more than 1.5 million community members and bring joy to more than 11 million kids. To learn about our goal to end playspace inequity for good, visit kaboom.org and join the conversation at twitter.com/kaboom, facebook.com/kaboom and instagram.com/kaboom.

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