playworks

Playworks can present many challenges in the first couple of weeks when beginning as a first time coach at a new school. My story begins at the start of the school year with a young man named Bahzia. The story begins with a game of kickball during recess. I noticed something extraordinary while I was rolling…

It is hard to believe that it has really only been a handful of months since I started as an AmeriCorps volunteer, working with Playworks Pennsylvania. It feels like so much growth has happened in these past few months, showing me the reciprocal learning that has informed my practice as a development practitioner, and the…

As a Playworks coach, there are so many positive things that outweigh the long hours, lesson planning, and nasty weather.  Everyday I come to school and look forward to seeing disagreements resolved using ro-sham-bo and seeing friendships grow as students play together at recess.  I have also learned that a smile can say so much…

  At some city public schools, there is no recess at all – deep budget cuts mean there are not enough adults to monitor students' playtime. But at McMichael Elementary in Mantua, children troop out onto the schoolyard in orderly lines, pledge to be respectful and kind, then break out into orderly but joyous games…

  Stephanie Murray, known as Coach Steph, is a first-year AmeriCorps coach at McCall Elementary School. Coach Steph has been incredibly consistent, organized, and committed during her first month of school. She shows up to school every day with a great attitude and is constantly evaluating her program in order to make improvements. Here is…

Coach Michelle -Aka- "BIG Meesh" is a rookie AmeriCorps coach at one of our first year schools, Henry C. Lea. In just a few short months she has made a huge impact on the school and has created an environment where every child wants to play. In addition to her school, she is impacting the community by…

George McCall Elementary  School  English & Mandarin, “The Challenge” With more than half of McCall School’s population speaking Mandarin as a primary language, communication is often difficult. Last year it was very challenging throughout recess trying to involve the ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) students in any of the game stations. Often these students did not recognize what…

Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service 2014 will always be a day to remember. First year AmeriCorps coaches Lauren L’Mac McGuire and Corrie O’Neil led their fellow AmeriCorps members, Playworks colleagues and students in a MLK Playworks Makes the Dream Work service project. The project consisted of Junior Coaches from 15 different elementary schools coming together to work on…

Over the course of the year, Kayla has made a complete transformation.  All she needed was a boost of confidence and the opportunity to shine. The first time meeting Kayla, I noticed she was quiet and unsure of herself.  I took the time to check in with her and began observing her at recess. I…