Anoka County SHIP Success Story
“Children,” says Coach T, “will not remember everything they did in science or social studies, but will remember recess and the connections they made on the playground.”
Outdoor play is essential for children. Recess is key for teaching students the importance of daily movement, social connections, and problem solving. However, recess can present a host of challenges for school staff, from managing conflicts between kids to difficult transitions back to class time. Noticing this, Hoover Elementary School Principal Minh Strusz reached out to Playworks to seek solutions for her students and staff.
Playworks is a nationwide organization dedicated to creating systems for safe, fun, and healthy play in schools. They offer training for recess supervisors, as well as hands-on recess coaching, led by staff like Coach T.
Playworks Minnesota’s Program Director Brandon Elsner said, “for nearly 30 years we’ve worked with schools to improve recess quality by empowering student leaders and providing professional development for recess supervisors. What we do fits an important niche when you consider the negative impact recess has on the school day – principals report nearly 90% of behavior referrals take place during lunch/recess.”
In spring of 2024, the Anoka County Statewide Health Improvement Partnership (SHIP) funded Hoover Elementary School’s partnership with Playworks to address recess policies and systems of play. This project supported all 480 students who attend Hoover Elementary.
To kick off this project, in August 2024 four recess staff and the assistant principal went through a Power of Play Training. This full-day training grounded recess staff in Playworks’ foundational practices for safe and healthy play. Next, Playworks staff completed two on-site visits at Hoover in September, where they offered coaching, professional development for recess staff, and observed the strengths and growth areas of Hoover’s recess procedures. This evaluation process, known as the Great Recess Framework, measures key areas such as safety, engagement, and empowerment.
Hoover received its highest baseline score in safety (3.6/4.0) which measures items such as adult supervision and using equipment as intended. Their biggest growth area was empowerment (2.6/4.0) , with measurements such as student conflict resolution and positive behavior modeling by adults.
Based on these results, Hoover set the following goals for improvement:
- Increasing positive and encouraging communication
- Increasing adults playing and/or facilitating play
- Improving student conflict resolution
- Fostering wider engagement in play
- Smoothing the transition(s) to/from recess
- Improving positive behavioral modeling by adults
By the end of October 2024, Hoover saw an average growth of 15% across all indicators in their Great Recess Framework data bringing overall safety, engagement, and empowerment scores above a 3.0, the mark for a “great recess.” Principal Strusz observed this improvement through a drop in reported conflicts on the playground. In just two months, Hoover Elementary saw a radical transformation of recess time into a more positive and engaging piece of the school day.
Hoover and Playworks continue to discuss their ongoing partnership and the sustainability of these changes. The next step is to implement a student leadership program at Hoover called The Junior Coach Program, which empowers a team of student leaders to drive a more positive and engaging recess culture as they lead recess games, teach conflict resolution skills, and serve as role models for younger students. “The goal,” said Principal Strusz, “is to share Hoover’s learnings with other schools so that students across Anoka County can thrive and enjoy supportive recess experiences.”
Principal Strusz is well on her way to that goal. In 2025, Sand Creek Elementary and Centerville Elementary applied for SHIP funding to partner with Playworks. The growing presence of Playworks in Anoka County, combined with SHIP’s supportive funding, means that this type of project is possible for schools across the county. Hoover’s success demonstrates the strength of this partnership, and the importance of play in supporting students to live healthy and active lives.
Healthy students are better learners and people with higher levels of education are more likely to be healthier and live longer.