Despite being around since 1900, the Benjamin Brown School has the worst playground in the Somerville Public School system. While other SPS schools have multiple play structures, basketball courts, soccer fields, a rock climbing wall – even a swimming pool – the Brown only has a bleak, cracked asphalt surface. Furthermore, the Brown has no interior recreation space.
It is understandably hard to retrofit a 120 year old school with new facilities. But it is not unreasonable to request that the city makes its existing facilities safer.
The Brown School asphalt surface leads to too many injuries. It’s not hard to see why in the picture above: the surface is hard, there are cracks and potholes, and there is an uneven slope across the yard. Recently a student tripped on one of these protruding cracks and sustained a head injury. An ambulance was called to take the student to the hospital.
Let’s patch our playground, not our kids!