Recess Games

In 2017, Playworks and the American Institutes for Research (AIR) partnered to learn more about how effective recess teams drive strong quality and recess outcomes. Close your eyes and picture the best recess you can imagine. What does that look like to you? A quality recess is one that is safe, engaging, and empowering. Play…

A few years ago, Playworks received a grant that came with a big challenge: How could we help more schools use our best recess strategies on their own, without our long-term presence? Thinking about all the schools we wanted to support, we noticed a gap. We offered year-round staffing, modeling, and consultation to schools near…

As teachers are preparing lesson plans, learning new curriculum, and setting up their classrooms, it is time to start prepping our collective classroom: the playground. Recess deserves back to school planning just like any other classroom. In fact, a recent Robert Woods Johnson Foundation brief recommends that schools, “Treat recess plans like lesson plans. Like classrooms, recess needs…