NEW OUTDOOR PLAY SPACE UNVEILED AT BRONX MIDDLE SCHOOL
**For Immediate Release September 30, 2021**
Ann Powell, 646-894-6407
Ann.Powell@successacademies.
NEW OUTDOOR PLAY SPACE UNVEILED AT BRONX MIDDLE SCHOOL
1,200 Students from Success Academy Bronx 2 Middle School, Bronx Writing Academy, and JHS 22 start the school year with a brand-new outdoor play facility funded by Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz.
Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz unveils a new outdoor play space with middle school students at the ribbon cutting ceremony.
NEW YORK, NY— They came to play — and to say “Thank you!” to Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, whose generous allocation of $1 million in 2018 funded a brand new outdoor play space that was unveiled yesterday.
Students at Success Academy Bronx 2 Middle School, along with kids from Bronx Writing Academy and JHS 22 Jordan L. Mott, will no longer be playing on a cracked expanse of cement. Instead, President Diaz’s allocation has provided the 1,200 children from the three middle schools located at 270 E 167th Street, with an array of colorful and vibrant amenities: a brand new four square court, a full-length basketball court, a half-basketball court, and a jungle gym full of climbing structures and swings.
Left: Birds-eye view of the concrete slab prior to renovation. Right: New playground after renovation.
At the ribbon cutting ceremony on Tuesday, Ruben Diaz spoke to the students about the value of their new outdoor space. “The allocation… is an investment in your future,” he told them, “and so the way you pay it back is that you grow up with all of your talents, all of your energy, with all of your swag, with all of your Bronx DNA, and you go conquer the world.”
President Diaz grew up and attended school in the South Bronx, one of the most economically disadvantaged areas in New York City, where playgrounds were scarce. Success Academy brought the desolate playground at SA Bronx 2 MS to President Diaz’s attention. “Shame on me if as the BP, a son of the Bronx, knowing what transpired here when I was their age, if given the opportunity and the privilege and the honor to allocate money, shame on me if I didn’t step up in a big way,” President Diaz said.
Sports are integral to Success Academy’s educational approach. Students learn basic soccer and basketball techniques starting in kindergarten, and can join school-based teams starting in third grade. They develop crucial life skills like teamwork and self-esteem, and the ability to go outside and play is especially important during this period of isolation and social distance.
“We are so thankful to Borough President Ruben Diaz for providing Bronx children with access to a beautiful playground and sports facilities,” says Eva Moskowitz, founder and CEO of Success Academy. “This is truly leveling the playing fields for our kids.”
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ABOUT SUCCESS ACADEMY
Founded in 2006, Success Academy Charter Schools are free public K-12 schools open to all children in the state through a random lottery. With 47 schools across Brooklyn, the Bronx, Manhattan, and Queens, Success Academy enrolls 22,000 students, primarily children of color from low-income households in disadvantaged neighborhoods: 74% receive free or reduced-price lunch, 94% are students of color, 16% have disabilities, and 8% are English language learners. In 2021, 100% of SA’s fourth and largest class of 129 graduating seniors were accepted to college; 71% received at least one offer from a college to meet full financial need; 75% of the class will be the first in their families to attend college.
For more information about Success Academy, go to successacademies.org
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