Fourteen San Francisco public schools in under-resourced neighborhoods are getting new or upgraded synthetic turf fields through a $1.9 million project, the Playing for Keeps Foundation and America SCORES Bay Area announced Oct. 28.
Together, the fields cover more than 100,000 square feet, and they are expected to serve more than 4,000 students a year, the groups said. The fields come at no cost to the schools. Funding includes support from Airbnb and the San Francisco-based Herbst Foundation, Local News Matters reported.
Which schools
Six new fields have already replaced asphalt schoolyards. They are at Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy, New Traditions Creative Arts Elementary, Monroe Elementary, Willie L. Brown Jr. Middle School, Malcolm X Academy Elementary and Sherman Elementary.
Eight more projects, seven turf replacements and one new field, are planned or underway through 2027. They are at Sanchez, Hillcrest, Tenderloin Community, E.R. Taylor, Marshall and Bret Harte elementary schools, Paul Revere (PreK-8) School and a middle school still to be named, according to Local News Matters.
What the turf is made of
The organizers said the turf was chosen because it lasts longer and needs less maintenance. It does not use crumb-rubber infill and is made without PFAS, a group of potentially harmful synthetic chemicals.
“A quality field is not a luxury,” Playing for Keeps Foundation president Mimi Nartey said in a statement. “A child’s ZIP code should never determine whether they get that chance.” Playing for Keeps calls neighborhoods with few safe places for kids to play “play deserts.”