My son is in first grade and one day when he first arrived at Stevenson Elementary, he came home with a burn on his hand that he got from the hot play equipment on the playground. I had just joined the PTA and heard at one of the meetings that someone was trying to get shade over the playground at school. I ran into the PTA president afterwards and started grilling him with questions about what was being done. WHEN? WHERE? And HOW much was it going to cost??? And has anyone shopped around for cheaper alternatives? He said “you need to be on the shade committee.” I went home, thought about the problem and started doing a little research. Soon I was introduced via email to other parents who had the same concerns as I did and our committee was formed. My passion for this goal is constantly reignited whenever I hear stories about other kids who were burned on the hot play equipment or have suffered from sunburns while outside for assemblies or P.E. It is surprising the number of times each year this occurs.

Play time in our children’s day is so important for their physical health and their mind. During recess they get to burn off energy so that they can go back to class renewed and refreshed and ready to learn. I believe it is important that we provide our kids with a safe place to play and burn off that energy, protected from the dangers associated with the strong California sun. With our school year starting earlier, our kids are outside playing in the hottest part of the day during the hottest part of the year and the need for shade is greater now than ever before.