New sport court opens at Johnson Street Global School in High Point

The new sport court at Johnson Street Global Studies School came together through funding from Beyond Sports, the High Point Community Foundation and The Earl and Kathryn Congdon Family Foundation, turning a flooded grass field and a crumbling basketball court into a usable place for soccer, basketball and other games. After about two years of work, the project gives students at the Guilford County Schools magnet campus at 1601 Johnson St. in High Point a cleaner, safer place to move, compete and stay active during the school day.

Beyond Sports had already been on campus for the last four years, hosting sports clinics and seeing firsthand how much students wanted to play. The group said the old setup limited that energy because the grass field often flooded and the basketball court was falling apart, leaving the school with a space that was hard to use consistently. Michaela Amidon said the need was evident long before the court opened, because the organization kept returning and seeing the same barriers to play.

The finished court reflects a broader approach than a simple facilities upgrade. Beyond Sports NC has described its Triad work as serving Title I schools with gently used sports equipment, play opportunities and support for coaches and mentors, while also bringing college students in as volunteers. That makes the High Point project part of a larger effort to reduce financial barriers around youth sports and to give children more than a place to stand around at recess.

Mike Kennedy said the point is to get children smiling, active, engaged and moving while easing everyday pressures. Paul Lessard of the High Point Community Foundation and Joe Blosser of the Congdon Foundation said the payoff goes beyond recreation, because children also build character, teamwork and the social skills that come from negotiating, cooperating and working through disagreements on the court.

For High Point families, the change is visible right away. A school space that once struggled with drainage and disrepair now offers a place where students can burn off energy and where a campus can show, in concrete terms, that local foundations and community groups are willing to invest in daily life at the school. It is also the kind of model other Guilford County campuses could use when a worn-out play area needs more than a patch job and a partner network can help carry the cost.