A Look Inside Chicago’s Next Four Space to Grow Schoolyards
June 18, 2026 | Written By: Healthy Schools Campaign
In the fall of 2025, four schools joined the Chicago Space to Grow program: Amelia Earhart Elementary School in Calumet Heights, Bernard Moos Elementary School in Humboldt Park, George Washington High School and Jane Addams Elementary School in East Side (being developed as a dual project). Construction at those four sites officially launched in June of 2026.
Behind every Space to Grow schoolyard is a community vision that transforms schoolyards into vibrant outdoor spaces for learning, connection to nature, active play, and climate resilience.
Each Space to Grow schoolyard is shaped through an inclusive design process that elevates the voices of students, parents and caregivers, school staff and neighbors. Through surveys, visioning activities, workshops and community meetings, school communities help determine how their outdoor spaces can best support learning, recreation and neighborhood needs. Every schoolyard is also designed to help reduce local flooding through the installation of green infrastructure that captures, absorbs and manages stormwater. Some of the unique priorities that emerged during the design process include:
- Amelia Earhart Elementary School: To support the school’s STEAM focus, Earhart’s new schoolyard will feature an outdoor classroom that is directly connected to their edible garden, and a pollinator garden where students can learn and explore in a hands-on environment.
- Jane Addams Elementary School: Addams prioritized active recreation and nature-based learning. The redesigned schoolyard will include a competition-size soccer field, a central plaza space, shaded seating areas and pathways that allow students and community to engage with rain gardens and native plants.
- George Washington High School: Washington’s design builds on the school’s existing environmental leadership program, which includes a focus on environmental justice, tree-growing initiatives and gardening programs. New features will include spaces for public art, a tree walk and enhanced growing areas for food, herbs and native plants.
- Bernard Moos Elementary School: Accessibility and inclusion were key priorities at Moos. The new schoolyard will feature accessible play equipment, including an inclusive spinner, and nature play elements designed to create welcoming experiences for students with disabilities.
George Washington High School marks Space to Grow’s first high school transformation, creating new opportunities to engage students more deeply in the design and learning process. To support this milestone, project partners facilitated workshops with students that explored green infrastructure, stormwater management and the history of water infrastructure in Chicago. Members of the school’s Garden Club helped develop interpretive signage that will be installed throughout the schoolyard, helping future students and visitors understand the purpose and impact of the site.
Once the schoolyards are complete, ribbon cutting celebrations will officially open the new spaces, and educators will participate in Space to Grow professional development sessions designed to help integrate the new outdoor spaces into classroom instruction. From science investigations to art, literacy, and physical activity, these spaces will support hands-on learning while helping students build stronger connections to nature and their communities.
Space to Grow is an innovative partnership co-founded by Healthy Schools Campaign and Openlands to transform Chicago schoolyards into vibrant spaces for school and community use. The program is made possible through capital funding, leadership and expertise provided by Chicago Public Schools, the Chicago Department of Water Management, the Chicago Department of Environment and the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago.
Explore the renderings below for a preview of the exciting transformations coming to each schoolyard.
