Trace Crossings to improve athletic facilities for community use

Trace Crossings Elementary will enter into a Shared Space Agreement with Hoover Parks and Recreation to leave school facilities open during non-school hours for community use.

Trace Crossings will be the first school in Jefferson County to formalize a Shared Space Agreement. The goal of this agreement is to increase community involvement with the school and to increase physical activity to fight childhood obesity.

The Children’s Policy Council of Jefferson County recently awarded a grant to Trace Crossings Elementary that will help improve its facilities for community use. Superintendent Andy Craig, Principal Barber and Lance Weems from Hoover Parks and Recreation were present to receive the grant.

Shared Space Agreements are formal agreements between a school and one or more community groups. Schools agree to open school recreation facilities after school hours to these groups under very specific guidelines.

Schools gain more community participation as they increase the potential of students, staff and families to share in fitness activities. Increased physical activity is a tool often missing when communities look for ways to decrease obesity.

Trace Crossings Elementary, Hoover Parks and Recreation, and the Children’s Policy Council worked together to create this Shared Space Agreement.