These Fort Worth ISD schoolyards will be open to the public outside school hours
Community members will have access to certain schoolyards in the Fort Worth Independent School District during after-school hours in an effort to increase accessibility to open spaces.
Fort Worth ISD and the city of Fort Worth announced a partnership on Wednesday to turn several schoolyards into neighborhood parks outside of school hours, contributing to a citywide vision to connect more residents to the outdoors. The school district and the city will share responsibilities of maintenance, security and future improvements of the spaces at elementary, middle and high school campuses.
The full list of schools, which is more than 70 total, can be viewed on the city of Fort Worth website on its Parks & Trails page.
“Fort Worth ISD schools are at the heart of Fort Worth neighborhoods. We are thrilled to partner with the City of Fort Worth to open our schoolyards after hours, offering welcoming and safe spaces that support healthy communities,” Superintendent Karen Molinar said in a statement.
The initiative is part of the city’s goal to continue improving its percentage of residents who live within a 10-minute walk of a park or open space, which currently accounts for 69% of residents. City officials said this is an increase from the 61% of residents living within this distance of a park or open space in 2022, as calculated by the Trust for Public Land ParkScore Index, which nationally measures equitable access to parks.
Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker and city officials have also worked to improve the park system amid the city’s rapid growth through the Good Natured greenspace initiative and GreenPrint Fort Worth, a master plan for parks, recreation and open spaces.
“I believe wholeheartedly that every Fort Worth resident should have easy access to a park or open space,” Parker said in a statement. “This partnership with FWISD builds on our Good Natured initiative to continue to grow green space opportunities to better serve the community.”
