Dear John,

Did you know that a Playworks coach is one of few individuals who sees and has a relationship with every kid in their school? This daily connection on the playground gives our teams a critical opportunity to notice and help students who come to school feeling stressed. Your support makes that possible every day.

Playworks’ coaches consistently create playgrounds experiences of joy, connection, and growth. To do this well, we must understand the latest science on trauma-informed practices and the impact of the pandemic on children. That is why we’ve dug deep into How Social and Emotional Support Rewires Brains—and Schools.

In a series of trainings delivered by Oregon State University researcher Will Massey, Playworks teams learned about how equity, trauma, and social emotional learning intersect. “What we want to do,” Massey told Playworkers, “is to come up with strategies to help build environments to get kids to more calm and alert states, so that not only can they learn new skills, but they can also use the skills they already have.”

“We all deserve to give ourselves a little grace. Playworks was my therapy.”

 – Carol Navarro, Teacher at John Garvy Elementary School

We are putting this new learning to work on playgrounds across the country, like at John Garvy Elementary School in Chicago, where Playworks is helping create a safe, healthy environment for both staff and for students.

“Better recess creates better learning. Happier children learn better,” said Victoria Grau, Recess Supervisor at John Garvy Elementary School, Chicago. Playworks staff helped Grau and the recess team evaluate the space and create clear boundaries for games — making the space much calmer.

Read more in our recently published Case Study.

Our team is continuously learning from the nation's top health professionals and researchers as they are discovering the impact of the pandemic on our schools and kids. We are continually enhancing our programming to reach children where they are and bring play back to our kids' lives.