For 600 Chicago high school students, it might just be that the only thing better than playing is working so others can play.

That intense competition is for 12 available spots in a program sponsored by the Chicago Public Schools that brings playgrounds to schools and other locations all over the city.

King Elementary School on Chicago's West Side received the latest one, completed Saturday as part of the Playground Pilots program.

The program, begun in 2001 and available to Chicago high school students between the ages of 15 and 18, has completed 114 playgrounds to date, according to program director Maritza Rosario. 

The students receive $9 per hour and are responsible for the entire planning and completion of the playgrounds, she added.

"It has been a blessing," said Shelton Flowers, King principal. "Schools are in dire need of support and funding. Through the efforts of our partnership with Rush University, we were able to make sure the playground was installed with the pilot program."

The Playground Pilots students meet with the school, design the actual playground, budget and schedule meetings, plan for the site, gather volunteers and coordinate and build the playground, said Anitra Schulte, CPS spokeswoman.

The King playground was done in partnership with R U Caring, a student-run organization at Rush University that focuses on promoting health care.

The Rush group has been tutoring at King Elementary for more than a year and contributed to the students' 2006 ISAT score improvement, said Sharon Gates, director of community services for Rush University Medical Center.

"My students wanted to reward them with something special," Gates said. "What better way to create a safe zone than to build a playground at the school."

Playground Pilots asked R U Caring for 50 volunteers, but more than 200 showed up, Gates said. They set up activities for the King students during construction, she added, to keep the children from getting injured during the work.

"We took them into the gym and we brought equipment over from Rush to engage them," she said. One such project was a science project to teach the children how to make ice cream.

"It all comes back to health care, whether my students are promoting education through tutoring, encouraging exercise or building a playground that provides safety," Gates said.

Playground Pilots expects to build about 30 more playgrounds by the end of this year, Schulte said, bringing the expected total to about 140.