The day after Boston police charged three people with intentionally setting fire to the playground at Charles Sumner Elementary School in Roslindale, first grader Mateo Gonzalez and his friends hid in the bushes beside their once-beloved play area.

“Do you see where they’re playing now? They’re hiding in trees,’’ laughed his mother, Andrea Lesser-Gonzalez.

On Wednesday, authorities charged a 23-year-old and two juveniles, 16 and 14, in connection with the May 23 fire, which split the small playground into two jarringly distinct halves. One side was left intact, complete with monkey bars and wobbly bridge, while on the other side, only a tall pole and some melted blue plastic remain. The ground is charred and reeks of tar.

The two teenagers, who live in Roslindale, will be arraigned June 17 on charges of arson, authorities said.

The West Roxbury District Court has not yet filed paperwork for the adult defendant, and police withheld his name.

Boston Fire Department spokesman Steve MacDonald said the defendants face as much as 2½ years in prison if convicted. Should the case move to Superior Court, the maximum sentence extends to 20 years, he added.

As students spilled out of the small building on Basile Street at day’s end, their parents — who normally would have allowed them to linger on the playground for a few minutes — waited for them on a paved play area instead.

“It’s pretty not fun,’’ 5-year-old Genevieve Ndwiga said.

Last week’s blaze was the second time in as many months fire has threatened the playground, which was built 15 years ago as part of a citywide schoolyard beautification campaign. On April 18, firefighters found vandalism and a small fire at the playground, although it was quickly extinguished, MacDonald said. It is not clear whether the two incidents are connected, a Boston Police Department spokeswoman said.

Faced with the loss of their playground, the school community has forged ahead and is already making plans to build a bigger, better replacement. An online fund-raising page started by the school’s parent council has raised more than $11,600 with donations from parents, local businesses, and other area schools.

Boston Public Schools Superintendent Tommy Chang and Mayor Martin Walsh have pledged their support for a new playground, although financial details have not been announced.

“The play structure, which was significantly destroyed in the second fire, was beloved not just by the school’s students but children across Roslindale,’’ said Richard Weir, a BPS spokesman. “The popular playground was, for many families, their communal backyard.’’

Amanda Lukens, fund-raising cochair for the parent council, said much of the funds will go toward rebuilding the playground, which she said will cost far more than the official estimate of $10,000. They will also pay for security measures for the school, such as surveillance cameras.

Parents said many Sumner students remain unsettled by the fire.

“I definitely got some questions [from my kids] about, could the school be burned down?’’ said Meg Vulliez, whose sons are in first and third grade. “They’re also trying to wrap their heads around why would someone do this. It’s tough to explain.’’

At Sumner, news of the charges brought a mixture of relief and satisfaction.

“Hopefully when they go [to court] they understand exactly what they did and who they were hurting. It’s the kids,’’ first-grade teacher Adrienne Jordan said.

Isa Gonzalez, a fourth grader, said she thought the perpetrators should be sentenced to community service because “sometimes teenagers’ brains go on vacation.’’ Skylar Valenzuela, 4, said she wants them to buy the school a new playground — this time with swings.

Others said the legal proceedings are secondary to the task of rebuilding and moving forward.

“We’re going the route of getting our playground back, not the punitive route,’’ first-grade teacher Madeline Buck said. “It’s great that they got the arsonists, but our focus is on the playground.’’

Vivian Wang can be reached at vivian.wang@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @vwang3.