San Francisco Coaches and Staff Rock Pre-Service

  1. Updates

  

It’s time to go back to school, and all across the Playworks nation, our regional teams have been gearing up for a strong start. In San Francisco, energy and expectations are high. The program team worked hard on recruitment this summer, adding 22 new staff and AmeriCorps coaches to our handful of solid returners, and expanding our TeamUp partnership to 12 schools across three school districts.

After a Friday afternoon meet-and-greet with office staff and board members, coaches convened the morning of August 17 at Bret Harte Elementary to mark the official start of pre-service. In true Playworks fashion, things kicked off with a bang: a few rounds of icebreakers, a rundown of our core values, some team-building activities, and lots and lots of games. Over the next two weeks, coaches practiced the game implementation skills and proactive group management strategies that will make them playground rockstars, and they attended personal influence and gender-on-the-playground sessions to help mentally prepare them for some of the challenges they’ll face this year.

“I’m pumped,” says first-year coach Sophia Rutkin.
“I’m feeling a lot of confidence,” adds Donna Chan. “I’m ready to put this stuff to use.”

Coaches got a small opportunity to do just that during the second week of pre-service; they spent two days visiting their schools before reuniting as a group on Wednesday to discuss their experiences. And although many acknowledged that the year ahead would be no easy task, all remained excited to embrace the opportunity.

“My first day was really long,” reports Adam Glasser. “I was at school until six o’clock getting things organized, but as I left, I overheard a student telling her mom, ‘the new Playworks coach likes me, and I like him, too!’” Adam smiles from ear to ear as he tells his story. “I can’t wait to go back,” he says.

More Updates


January 12, 2023

Golden State Warriors Community Foundation & Salesforce partner with Playworks ›

We are grateful for our continued partnership with the Warriors Community Foundation and Salesforce during the 2022-2023 school year. With their support, Playworks Northern California has delivered safe and healthy play to over 41,200 elementary school children of promise this year! Check out this inspiring video showcasing our work together:      

A boy and girl holding basketballs on a playground.
A boy and girl holding basketballs on a playground.

November 16, 2022

2021-22 Annual Report ›

We are excited to share with you a look back at everything we accomplished in the 2021-2022 program year. It was a year focused on rebuilding after the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and we are proud to share that we served 41,200 students in the Northern California Region.  We are thankful for your continued…

three people with Playworks shirts
three people with Playworks shirts

July 28, 2022

A year of social and emotional learning ›

“You can’t do SEL, trauma, or equity work without each other,” Jennette Claassen, Head of Evaluation, Playworks. As Playworks continued to progress on our equity journey, we explored a critical question: what are the intersections between play, social and emotional learning, physical activity, and trauma? A working group focused on this question decided, among other…