Hastings Public School, Courtesy
HASTINGS — The Hastings Public Schools Foundation will join with the Hastings Public Schools Board of Education for a ribbon cutting celebrating playground upgrades at Alcott Elementary School (313 N. Cedar Ave, Hastings) on Monday, Sept. 15 at 5 pm.
The Alcott upgrades are part of Project;Playground – an $850,000 partnership between the HPS Foundation and the Hastings Public Schools to provide playground improvements at all 5 district elementary schools.
Additions to the Alcott playground include five new pieces of play equipment, surface changes under existing equipment that make the area accessible for all students, and a turf area that replaces what had previously been dirt and weeds.
Landscaping work at Alcott is still to come including the planting of five trees at the end of September that are being provided through the Trees for Nebraska Towns Initiative, an effort of the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum and the Nebraska Forest Service.
Alcott students will be part of the celebration, along with donors, and board members.
Phase 1 of new equipment at Longfellow and Lincoln Elementary schools were completed just before the start of school – with additional upgrades to take place in Summer 2026. Planning for upgrades at Hawthorne and Watson Elementary Schools is underway, with a construction timeframe of spring 2026.
