Officials at Edward Hynes Charter School expect work on new playgrounds to start next month, principal Michelle Douglas said.

Playground planning was under way when the board met on March 24, according to the principal’s report. Douglas added during a meeting last week that the project, originally scheduled to go out to bid on April 20, had fallen a bit behind schedule.

In January, the board approved plans to spend $103,000 to create two new playgrounds designed by the Mathes Brierre architecture firm. One playground would be for kindergartners and pre-K students, and the other for grades one through eight.

In other news, Hynes third-graders won a Global Green competition in Louisiana for a “Recycle Rangers” program, Douglas said.

The program teaches students and staff about the school’s “duty to recycle and to reduce waste,” according to the principal’s report. As part of the program, students walk up and down the halls of the school emptying paper products, plastics and other recyclables into bins. They also have “lunch duties,” to make sure there’s no unnecessary waste, and even monitor recycling by staff, Douglas said.

“They come into our office and the teacher’s lounge and fuss at us if we don’t empty out the water bottles,” she added, laughing. “They’ve spearheaded the effort, and we’ve followed their lead.”

Hynes received $300 for the award. The money will be used to keep the program running and to repay the cost of the recycling bins, Douglas said.

Douglas also said that LEAP scores would be submitted May 16.

Last month, the principal reported that third-quarter test results put the school closer to its reading goal, and that 89 percent of students are reading at or above their grade level.

The report found that 105 students were over the limit for tardiness and absences and are now being monitored.

Della Hasselle

Della Hasselle, a freelance journalist and producer, reports environmental and criminal justice stories for The Lens. A graduate of Benjamin Franklin High School and the New Orleans Center for Creative...