Autauga County Schools unveil shaded preschool playground at Prattville Kindergarten

Autauga County Schools marked a new preschool playground shade structure at Prattville Kindergarten School on Monday, May 19, giving the district’s youngest students a covered outdoor space meant to ease heat exposure and make daily play more comfortable. District leaders said the addition is designed to create a cooler, safer and more usable outdoor environment for pre-k students throughout the school year.

The project matters in practical terms well beyond a ceremonial ribbon cutting. For kindergarteners and preschoolers, shade can determine whether outdoor recess is short and uncomfortable or long enough to support active play, learning and daily movement. At Prattville Kindergarten, the new structure is aimed at expanding outdoor time while reducing direct sun exposure during Alabama’s hotter months.

Holly McNider, Autauga County Schools’ director of elementary curriculum and instruction, tied the project to the district’s broader effort to build learning environments that work inside classrooms and outdoors. Prattville Kindergarten principal Jodi Womble said the shade structure will make the play area more enjoyable each day and thanked community partners for helping make it possible. Autauga County Schools joined the school, the Autauga Education Foundation and the Prattville Area Chamber of Commerce for the celebration.

Funding for the project came through the Autauga Education Foundation’s annual grant program, showing how local support continues to shape school facilities one project at a time. The foundation says its mission is to provide sustainable resources and community support for Autauga County Schools. During the 2025-2026 school year, it awarded more than $35,000 across 13 projects and programs in the system. Its grant cycle opened Aug. 8, 2025, closed Sept. 12, 2025, and awards were made by December 2025.

The shade structure also fits into the story of Prattville Kindergarten’s new campus, which replaced a downtown Prattville building that was more than 100 years old. The new school, which held its official ribbon cutting on Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025, opened that month with 32 classrooms, including four preschool rooms, and capacity for more than 600 students. The shade addition is one of the early upgrades to the newer campus and adds another layer of comfort for the students who use it every day.