About Us

Research shows that play is essential to child development and an invaluable tool for improving school climate. And quality recess and playtime also helps children return to the classroom more focused and ready to learn. Playworks is a national, nonprofit organization that supports learning by providing safe, healthy, and inclusive play and physical activity to low-income schools at recess and throughout the entire school day.

Playworks is the only nonprofit organization in the country to send trained, full-time coaches 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. These coaches become part of the school community, working full-time to provide organized play and physical activity through the five components of the Playworks program. They organize games and activities during recess, provide individual class game times, and run a leadership development program during school hours. They also run Playworks tutoring and physical activity programs and developmental sports leagues during after school hours.

In working with hundreds of low-income schools, Playworks has found recess to be an untapped opportunity to increase physical activity among students. Since nearly every school in America allows some recess time each day, this time can be an unsurpassed chance to not only get kids active, but also to teach a number of valuable life lessons such as cooperation, conflict resolution and teamwork.

Playworks has partnered with 300 schools in 23 urban cities this year, reaching more than 130,000 children on a daily basis. With recent support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Playworks is fulfilling an ambitious national expansion effort with the goal of operating in 27 cities across the country by 2013, providing play and physical activities to more than 1 million students.