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L.A. early education classrooms are returning to nature.  

Motivated by research showing how the outdoors can aid in learning, the Los Angeles Unified School District is investing over  to transform heat-absorbing asphalt at every Los Angeles early education center into  that reconnect students with nature. 

The district has completed 23 of these makeovers, which are being used by 2,800 pre-k students. 

Earlier this month, parents, community members and LAUSD officials attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony at  where officials unveiled a new outdoor classroom designed to immerse young students in nature-based learning.

The $1.9 million makeover provided students with a colorful jungle gym, sprouting plants, musical instruments, and educational toys. It鈥檚 a classroom that feels like a park 鈥�  and it鈥檚 making parents even more excited to send their children to school.  

鈥淚鈥檓 terrified because I don鈥檛 like bugs, and they like to pick up rocks, so they鈥檙e gonna pick up rocks and they鈥檙e gonna bring it home, and they鈥檙e gonna bring little caterpillars and bugs,鈥� said LaDeja McIntyre about her three year old daughter. 鈥淏ut I鈥檓 excited too, because she gets to explore her mind鈥�outside of the classroom and (in the) outdoors.鈥� 

Construction at the Normandie Avenue center took about 16 months. District officials say it will take several more years to meet their goal of building outdoor classrooms at every early education center. Thirteen are currently under construction.

The classrooms are designed in collaboration with , a nonprofit working to incorporate nature into every child鈥檚 education. The group has partnered with LAUSD for 14 years and is currently designing more than 20 new outdoor classrooms. 

According to the , outdoor learning can improve children鈥檚 mental health, foster responsibility and stimulate imagination.   

Nature Explore educational consultant Kirsten Haugen and her colleague Jill Primak, an architect, are part of the team that brings the classrooms to life.

鈥淪eeing children enter these spaces and spend their days in these spaces, they are a wonderful mixture of excitement and calm鈥�they have a sense of purpose and a sense of efficacy that you don鈥檛 see when they鈥檙e in more chaotic spaces,鈥� Haugen said. 鈥淭eachers feel better in these spaces so when we can set the stage for people to be their best selves, what could be better than that?鈥�

For three years, LAUSD superintendent Alberto Carvalho, has been part of efforts to provide teachers and students with the stage to be their best selves. In 2024, voters approved Measure US, a $9 billion facilities fund, some of which is being used to build these outdoor classrooms. 

At the ribbon cutting ceremony for Normandie Avenue, Carvalho said the district is committed to expanding these classrooms to every early education center.

Even though Measure US is providing the district with bonds, Carvalho鈥檚 recent visit to Washington D.C. has made him concerned about the future of programs meant to improve student wellbeing, such as the outdoor classrooms. 

鈥淭here are actions that could significantly undermine the quality, not just of education, but the quality of life of people in our community,鈥� Carvalho said. 鈥淪o in as much as we celebrate the greatness of our investments, we need to be mindful of the threats that could derail everything we have worked so hard to do.鈥� 

According to a report by the , Los Angeles has less park space than most major U.S. cities. The city offers just 3.3 acres of parkland per 1,000 residents, compared to a 6.8-acre median in other metro areas. 

Normandie Avenue principal Rhonda Granados said access to the outdoor space has changed the way students are learning. After the ribbon cutting ceremony, she played with a few students who were building ramps to slide balls down into a bed of wood chips. 

鈥淲hat鈥檚 really rewarding is that they don鈥檛 know that they hadn鈥檛 been in nature because we had all asphalt,鈥� Granados said. 鈥淲hen they come out here, they鈥檙e touching the leaves and the plants, and they鈥檙e asking questions about, how come this one鈥檚 green, but this one鈥檚 yellow, so it鈥檚 really rewarding to see their mind starting to ask questions and investigate and really want to know how things work.鈥� 

This article is part of a collaboration between 社区黑料 and the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.

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