Playworks Premieres in Portland with Recess Roll-Out Week

Playworks successfully wrapped up a whirlwind of Recess Roll-Outs in Portland area schools this spring, giving principals a look at how positive the learning environment can be when recess and play at school are focused on healthy activities, even just for a few days. Playworks is expanding to Portland and will be operating full-time in eight Portland schools when school starts up after summer break. A team of Playworks coaches from around the country battled spring rains and introduced our trademark brand of safe and inclusive play to nine Portland area schools, Clarendon-Portsmouth and Woodlawn K-8s and Grout, Rosa Parks, Sitton, Hartley, Salish Ponds, Sacramento and Prescott Elementary Schools. Playworks Recess Roll-Out teams introduced students to crowd pleasers such as Switch, 3 Line Basketball, and 4-Square while teaching them how to use the ultimate problem-solver — Ro Sham Bo  (Rock Paper Scissors) — to settle disputes and keep games going.  Principals said they were thrilled to see fewer students sent to their office for behavior problems, while teachers learned a few new skills to keep students focused and engaged. In addition, Portland school staff and students found that indoor recess games are a much more fun, healthier alternative than showing movies in classrooms on rainy days. Playworks offers a full variety of safe and active indoor recess games. In addition, schools that had previously banned tag found new, safe ways to bring back the beloved gamePlayworks Recess Roll-Outs are a weeklong introduction to schools in each of the new expansion cities the program will be operating in next year. By end of the 2009, Playworks will operate programs in 11 cities, and serve more than 85,000 students in more than 200 schools on a daily basis.