From a lot to a park
at Wilson Middle School

By Lauren Fritsky
Times Staff Writer

Parents of Woodrow Wilson Middle School students may remember the line in the Joni Mitchell song Big Yellow Taxi that goes, They paved paradise and put up a parking lot.
But for Wilson parents, the reverse happened for their kids: A parking lot at the school became a park.
The school, at 1800 Cottman Ave., unveiled its new green space at a ceremony Thursday.
"Projects like this just don’t happen," said Lissa Johnson, the School District of Philadelphia’s Northeast Regional superintendent.
The plan for the project sprouted in 2002 at the behest of students in the mentally gifted program, who helped design the park, located in the west parking lot of the school at Frontenac Street.
At the time, outgoing school district CEO Paul Vallas wanted to spruce up schools by creating parks, beautifying grounds and granting larger public access to recreational areas. Wilson’s park materialized with a school beautification grant given to the school district.
The once gray, gravelly spot now includes a three-tiered amphitheater, a grassy courtyard, young trees, blue tables and seats.
The school hopes to use the space to showcase performances by Wilson’s thriving arts and music program and let community groups entertain there as well.
The middle-schoolers study performing arts under Wilma Theater professionals, and Peter Nero & the Philly Pops mentor the school’s jazz band.
"We plan to make good use of our new open space for concerts and public events; it is a wonderful addition to our school," said principal James McWilliams. "We want to invite neighbors to come and enjoy use of our park as well."
The side of the school building facing the park includes some mosaic murals that caused a heated debate when they debuted two years ago.
The murals, designed through the Philadelphia Mural Arts Program, depict students of various ethnic backgrounds participating in various activities.
Parents and community members argued that the murals’ colors were too bright and would attract vandalism. They also said the figures depicted no white children and therefore did not adequately capture the true diversity of Wilson’s student population.
After several public meetings with the school district, officials decided to move the remaining figures to the inside of the school. The bright colors were painted over.
Art became a hot topic at the school again last fall, when the School Reform Commission began debating whether to sell part of Wilson’s prized art collection to ease the school district’s budget deficit. ••
Reporter Lauren Fritsky can be reached at 215-354-3038 or lfritsky@phillynews.com