Everett Elementary School opens new outdoor classroom

BOSTON – Mayor Thomas M. Menino today joined Superintendent Carol R. Johnson, along with families, staff, and partners, to dedicate a new outdoor classroom at the Edward Everett Elementary School in Dorchester. The school community also installed an 800-foot fence, named in memory of former Everett principal Kathleen Flannery, who died suddenly in 2006.

Mayor Menino said, “Today we celebrate the hard work of a strong school community coming together on behalf of children. This new outdoor classroom provides Everett Elementary students with an exciting new learning space. This wonderful addition to the school grounds is a perfect tribute to Kathleen Flannery, who would be very proud of everyone here today.”

Ms. Flannery began teaching in the Boston Public Schools in the 1970s and served as principal of the Everett for 12 years. She died of pancreatic cancer at the age of 57, shortly before she was scheduled to retire in 2006. Families and staff credit Ms. Flannery with attracting new resources to the school, most notably expanding music instruction and the school library collection.  Many students and adults honored her memory today by wearing purple, Ms. Flannery's favorite color.

The Everett is one of six Boston public elementary schools opening a new schoolyard or outdoor classroom this year through the Boston Schoolyard Initiative, a public-private partnership between the City of Boston and a collaborative of private funders.

“We are grateful to Mayor Menino and the Boston Schoolyards Initiative for these tremendous investments in the schoolyards of our city,” said Dr. Johnson. “Here at the Everett, and in every neighborhood of Boston, schools have safe, colorful, interactive spaces for recreation and education in the fresh air.”

The Everett dedicated its first new schoolyard in 1993 and received $90,000 last year from the Boston Schoolyard Initiative to build an outdoor classroom. The new outdoor learning space features a deck with space for science experiments, amphitheater, pathway through new plantings, and an “urban meadow” for learning about plants and nature.

“The Everett outdoor classroom exemplifies our commitment to working with the City of Boston and BPS to transform Boston’s schoolyards into dynamic centers for recreation, learning and community life,” said Myrna Johnson, executive director of the Boston Schoolyard Funders Collaborative. “We can’t wait to see this creative new outdoor classroom come to life as the teachers and students of the Everett use it for science, writing, and more.”

To construct the Kathleen Flannery Memorial Fence, the school received a $15,000 grant through the City’s “Small Changes” program, funded with proceeds from the Democratic National Convention held in Boston in 2004, as well as $50,000 from the Browne Fund, a trust of the City of Boston, and $20,000 raised by the Friends of the Edward Everett Schoolyard. The project has been supported by numerous community partners.

Also participating in the ceremony today were City Councilor Maureen Feeney and Alicia Zipp, Edward Schoolyard Community Coordinator, who led many of the fund-raising efforts for the initiative.  Ms. Flannery's sister, Barbara Pandolfi, also spoke about her sister's longtime dream of transforming the school grounds into a safe, attractive outdoor space for children to play and learn.  Students concluded the ceremony with a performance of the "Everett Pride Song."

The Everett Elementary School, located at 71 Pleasant Street in Dorchester, serves approximately 300 students in pre-kindergarten through grade 5 and offers before- and after-school programs. The school celebrated its 100th anniversary last year. On recent MCAS exams, the school demonstrated continuous improvement in student achievement, including a 50 percent increase in third graders scoring at the advanced and proficient levels in both English Language Arts and Mathematics. 

Pictured at left: First grade student Leianna Andrade reads the thermometer in the Everett Elementary School's new outdoor classroom.  See the entire photo album on-line.