Playworks

I don’t know why adults even bother asking kids what their favorite class is. They’re obviously going to either say recess or make something up because they know that they’re not supposed to say recess. As a kid I felt bad for liking recess more than the rest of the school day, but now I realize that recess is totally underrated. It’s a time for social interaction, safe risk taking (or are monkey bars banned now?), decision making, and more. It’s also a fantastic way to get kids to burn off energy so that they can be more focused in the classroom. Playworks is an Oakland, CA based non-profit (but they work in cities across the country) that aims to “improve the health and well-being of children by increasing opportunities for physical activity and safe, meaningful play.” In other words, they’re all about recess.

Play Works

While recess is great in theory, it can cause a lot of problems in practice. Letting kids run free on the playground can lead to bullying, teasing, fighting, accidents, and lots more. It’s no surprise that monitoring recess is unpopular with teachers. That’s why Playworks sends “trained, full-time program coordinators, called ‘coache’” to low-income, urban schools, where they transform recess and play into a positive experience that helps kids and teachers get the most out of every learning opportunity throughout the school day.” Additionally, Playworks offers training and support for schools that would rather have their own staff do the job. Playworks serves more than 300 schools across 23 cities reaching a total of well over 100,000 elementary school students on a daily basis. They couldn’t have achieved that kind of reach without programming that works–and the stats back that up (“educators reported reclaiming an average of eight minutes per day, or more than 24 hours of class time annually, of teaching time formerly lost to resolving conflicts from the playground”).

If you like the sound of what Playworks is doing, then you need to head over to their Careers page. They have both School Openings and Administrative Openings. Here’s what might be suitable for a new or recent grad:

• Elementary School Program Coordinator (Denver, CO)
• Americorps Program Coordinator (the deadline seems to have passed, but this is still posted for Albuquerque, NM; Baltimore, MD; Denver, CO; Newark, NJ; Brooklyn, NY; Phoenix, AZ; and Twin Cities, MN)
• Trainer (Oakland, CA)
• Development Associate (Philadelphia, PA)

If you loved recess, consider a position with Playworks.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

• Playworks.org
• Jobs at Playworks
• About Playworks
• Playworks’ People
• Playworks’ Story
• Playworks’ Annual Reports
• Playworks’ Blog

What do you think of Playworks?

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