Six elementary schools throughout Atlanta received a “recess makeover” from Playworks in May, as the organization launched Playworks Georgia, its 24th region in the U.S. More than 2,000 students – and their teachers, principals and other staff – got to experience the benefits of safe, healthy and inclusive play as trained experts from Playworks spent a week bringing Recess Roll-out to the six Atlanta schools.
In partnership with Georgia SHAPE and supported by a challenge grant from the Atlanta Falcons Youth Foundation, Playworks is now offering direct service and training programs to elementary schools in Atlanta and elsewhere throughout Georgia. The Recess Roll-out gave teachers and school administrators the chance to see how a safe and healthy recess can decrease the problems that arise during this time – and have a positive impact on children’s ability to return to class ready to learn.
Playworks trainers introduced new games that encouraged teamwork and inclusion by every child, and showed the students healthy ways to settle arguments and resolve conflicts using “Rock-Paper-Scissors” and other vehicles. At the end of the week, one principal, Karen Brown-Collier, remarked that previously she had a stack of injury and discipline forms following recess but this week those numbers were significantly reduced. And even some of the students talked about how the incidents of bullying and arguing had subsided thanks to the new games and conflict-resolution tools they learned.
Playworks Georgia’s new executive director, Ellen McCarty, is enthusiastic about the opportunity to serve schools throughout the state. “We’ve heard from administrators who’ve been frustrated by the problems they’ve seen on the playground. Their goal is to make recess a positive experience for kids and teachers alike, and we’re looking forward to helping them make that goal a reality,” she said. “We’re happy to be partnering with Georgia SHAPE in this effort and grateful to the Atlanta Falcons Youth Foundation for making it possible.”
