(11/12/06) FORDHAM - A city program allowed P.S. 246 students to design a Fordham elementary school's new playground and learn basic skills in the process.

P.S. 246 will receive the playground courtesy of a $1 million grant from the City Spaces Program and the Trust for Public Land. Turf fields, play equipment, athletic equipment, benches, outdoor classrooms and gardening areas will all be included in the area that was once composed only of asphalt. Students played a large role in determining what equipment they wanted and where it would go. Teachers reinforced math skills by having students measure how and where the new equipment would fit in the lot.

School administrators say more than 6,000 children who live near the school will be permitted to use the playground after school, on weekends and during the summer. The playground is scheduled to open on December 20.

The Trust for Public Land is a non-profit organization that buys and repurposes land for public use. The group has built seven playgrounds in the Bronx alone.