Two years ago, Tandi Prillerman started an elementary school with a big vision: the school would create a safe and loving environment celebrating each scholar’s unique identities. Scholars would embrace their talents and walk with the confidence necessary to succeed in college and make a positive impact in the world. They would do this in the context of strong academic expectations and support.
Today KIPP WAYS Primary School, a Title 1 school in West Atlanta, Georgia, is thriving. The school’s approach is paying off in the classroom, where budding scholars are averaging 13.4 months of learning over the course of a 9 month school year.
It is also paying off on the playground, where Principal Prillerman and Assistant Principal Perrault partner with Playworks to ensure what happens outside the classroom supports what happens within it. “We partnered with Playworks because we believe that cooperative education, teamwork, and problem-solving skills are tools our scholars can learn during recess and apply to classroom situations and real-life situations,” shared Principal Prillerman.
Playworks Coach Mo arrived on the playground at the start of the school year, and the school is already noticing the difference. “We have seen our scholars transferring problem-solving skills into the classroom by using ro-sham-bo to figure out taking turns. And the joy factor Coach Mo brings inspires our scholars to enjoy their recess time,” said Assistant Principal Perrault.
Because KIPP WAYS is such a new school, the team is still working to ensure that students have all the resources they need to thrive. When they found out that three schools would have the chance to win $500 of recess equipment through the Playworks Back to School, Back to Recess giveaway, they knew they had to enter. Coach Mo rallied the staff, and Assistant Principal Perrault was randomly selected as a prizewinner.
“We we so excited and happy when we found out! Thanks to this amazing prize, now we will be able to extend our enrichment program. This equipment will allow us to create more recess centers for our students,” said Assistant Principal Perrault.
KIPP WAYS Primary was one of three schools randomly selected to win $500 in recess equipment through the Back to School, Back to Recess giveaway. Riverside Central Elementary in Rochester, MN and Lycée Français de San Francisco in San Francisco, CA also won equipment for their playgrounds.
Emily Hodges, a kindergarten teacher at Portland Arthur Academy in Portland, OR, won the Back to School, Back to Recess Grand Prize, a trip for four to Disneyland®. Emily Hodges is a recent Concordia University graduate and a first-year teacher. Playworks is proud to help Emily celebrate a successful first year teaching and to help all our winners come back to recesses focused on safe, healthy play every day.
Special thanks to S&S Worldwide for their donation of recess equipment. Playworks and S&S Worldwide are working together to help schools and youth organizations increase healthy play opportunities for students throughout the school day and beyond. Learn more by visiting www.ssww.com/playworks.
