Can you imagine an elementary school without a safe playground to play on? Well that was a reality at Long Branch Elementary until Communities In Schools stepped in with a partnership from KaBOOM! and CarMax.Long Branch Elementary, a school in which one-third of the students participate in dropout prevention programs provided by Communities In Schools of Jacksonville hasn’t had a new playground in 12 years.The playground project kicked off with a special Design Day event on Thursday, December 4, 2014. Students put crayons to paper and drew their dream playground, which ultimately became a reality with help from The CarMax Foundation, Communities In Schools and organizers from KaBOOM!.Also Read: Developing Emotional Intelligence in Kids Through Group ActivitiesOn January 22, 2015, after more than six weeks of planning, more than 200 volunteers came together to make this new playground a reality. “It’s just a great opportunity for the community to come and work together,” said Viveca Brown, Principal of Long Branch Elementary.Now, after twelve years, Long Branch Elementary has a playground that is available for both students and the community to take advantage of. “We love giving back to the communities that we’re in”, said Tom Nolan, Regional Vice-President and General Manager of CarMax in Florida. Learn more about the project by watching below:[gdlr_video url="Yhttps://youtu.be/PNVzw-qS3AY?t=22m44s" ]Related Tag: Jacksonville Tutoring Services