Enhancing Birch Playground Safety and Culture
As you may have read last week in our newsletter, we are implementing some changes to recess at Birch. As part of the Bully Prevention Education Grant (BPEG), BVSD recently provided a comprehensive two-day training for elementary school recess staff. This training was led by Playworks, the leading national nonprofit dedicated to using the power of play to enhance children's physical and emotional well-being.
This initiative was a direct response to the results of the Elementary Student Bullying Survey, in which students reported experiencing or witnessing bullying in higher numbers on the playground, compared to other areas of the school. With this in mind, Birch, along with many other BVSD elementary schools, sent a team to the Playworks training. Sending a team helped to ensure consistency across all grade levels during recess, and to support student safety with our current staffing levels.
The Playworks program aims to improve school culture by creating an inclusive, safe, and healthy playground environment for both students and staff. This training equipped our team with valuable skills, including managing transitions, resolving conflicts, and developing systems that promote a meaningful and enjoyable recess.
Shifts in our recess structure include a specific routine as students transition to and from recess, new recess equipment color coded by grade level, and zones to help students identify which parts of their playground and field are for their grade level to enjoy. Since we have new school recess equipment, we ask that students leave their personal sports equipment at home.
Your student may come home and tell you about the zones. The zones allow our paraprofessionals and staff to better monitor recess, and give students more opportunities for the type of play in which they are interested in. The zones have been carefully designed to allow staff better line of sight for all students. Each grade level has areas (zones) on the playground where they have access to a playground,, areas to access the blacktop for four square, basketball and other hard surface games, areas for free play, and areas in the field for soccer, tag, etc. Students can move freely between the zones based on their interests.
Here’s an example of what a typical recess might look like for your student:
After lunch, students head outside. While the students are gathering in the courtyard, the paraprofessional reviews our three recess expectations: Be Kind, Be Safe, Have Fun. This takes approximately one minute. After this students are released to play in whichever zone they choose. Students who are interested in learning a new game, are encouraged to go to the zone where periodically the paraprofessional will be teaching and implementing new collaborative game options. Again, this is optional for students. At the end of recess, students are asked to help gather all equipment they used and line up to go back inside the building.
We are excited for these changes. Thank you for your support as we work together to create a safe and welcoming environment for all students.
