Community School Parks Initiative

The Community School Parks (CSP) Initiative is a transformative program that repurposes Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) schoolyards into vibrant public parks during non-school hours. These spaces provide much-needed green areas for recreation, play, and community engagement in neighborhoods with limited access to parks.

A partnership between the City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks (RAP) and LAUSD, the CSP program currently operates 10 locations where elementary and middle schools are repurposed as open spaces when school is not in session. The location and availability of hundreds of these schools make this partnership essential and the primary solution to providing equitable park access and students with active and passive recreation opportunities.

Through this initiative, 10 LAUSD schoolyards are currently open to the public on weekends and after school, creating safe and welcoming environments for families, children, and the broader community. In August 2025, LAUSD approved a Joint Powers Agreement (JPA) with RAP that establishes a formal 10-year partnership for the CSP program. This agreement allows RAP to provide supervision, recreational programming, and maintenance at participating campuses, ensuring the program’s long-term sustainability and paving the way for even more Community School Parks to open in the years ahead.

In March 2025, Los Angeles Parks Foundation published the Pathways to Play report, which explored how this program can help the city truly realize park equity at scale. With the newly agreed upon JPA set in place, an updated report was released in September 2025 to highlight the successes of recently opened Community School Parks, the lessons learned, and the opportunities created under the new JPA framework. This updated review serves as both a celebration of progress and a roadmap for future growth.

The Community School Parks Initiative is a collaborative effort between LAUSD, RAP, the Los Angeles Parks Foundation, Trust for Public Land, and more. In 2023, the Anthony Pritzker Family Foundation provided a generous gift to the Los Angeles Parks Foundation, in addition to contributions from several Los Angeles Parks Foundation Board members, to reach our goal of transforming open schoolyards into accessible recreational playgrounds during non-school hours in 2024. Together, with the approval of the JPA and continued philanthropic support, the program is positioned for significant growth and lasting impact.

For more information on the Community School Parks initiative, you can visit: LA Parks Community School Parks.