he Baton Rouge Foreign Language Academic Immersion Magnet School (FLAIM) was selected to receive a funding for a new KaBoom! playground. The Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) at FLAIM, formerly known as South Boulevard Elementary, applied for a playground grant from KaBoom! in September.  The announcement was made December, 10.

In order to be eligible, schools had to sponsor a play date at which time students, parents, school staff and partners painted and refurbished the current playground.  The events of that day were recorded and submitted to KaBoom! for the grant application. Then a panel of judges selected the top 10 schools nationally to receive funding.  FLAIM was selected as one of those schools.

Once the school was announced as a finalist, people were invited to vote on line. To garner votes, the school implemented a “get out the vote” campaign.  This truly was an international campaign with votes for FLAIM being cast from around the globe.  “It is amazing how far everyone reached out to get the votes,” said FLAIM Principal Cheryl Miller, “We had votes from China and France. It truly was an international get out the vote effort.”

The final outcome was very close. Up until the last day of voting which was November 30, FLAIM and another elementary school in California were virtually tied in the number of votes received.

KABOOM! is a national non-profit dedicated to saving play for America's children. Additional information about KaBoom! may be found at: http://kaboom.org/blog/congrats_our_play_day_winners