(Youth1)- In April 2009, Adeola Whitney was working at a Charter School in Harlem, New York as an administrator. The entire time that Whitney worked in this impoverished area, she rarely saw young children playing at recess.  

“I was amazed at how hard it was to get children to play,” Whitney says. “They didn’t know games, there was a lot of fighting and in the area where they lived they couldn’t go out to play in parks after school.”

Then one day in April 2009, Whitney went to a Newark elementary school to observe a week-long “Recess Roll-out” program that was put on by a non-profit organization named Playworks. She was amazed at what she saw.

When the recess bell rang, the energetic Playworks staff members went to work and involved all of the children in exciting physical activities. The children’s faces lit up as they learned how to play games, and they were not only fun, but organized too.

After witnessing this amazing recess transformation, Whitney decided to join the Playworks family. Now as the Executive Director of Playworks in the Greater Newark area, Whitney has seen eight schools positively effected in amazing ways over the past year. Playing organized games during recess or being part of an after-school sports team would have seemed impossible for most children in Newark, but Playworks has changed that forever.  

Created in 1996, President and founder Jill Vialet formed Playworks in order to promote safe and healthy play and physical activity in schools around the country.

“As grownups it’s our responsibility to make sure all kids have the opportunity to play,” Vialet says. “Play is something kids really want to do and it’s the most obvious and logical way for them to be physically active.”

Playworks, which operates in 27 cities throughout the U.S., works by introducing children to new games and teaching them how to play. The Playworks “coaches” make the games fun and interesting, while also explaining conflict-resolution tactics. Whitney says that more than 50 percent of fights start during recess, which is why Playworks also focuses on the importance of safety and team-building skills.

“Our mission is really powerful,” Whitney says. “Our goal is to improve the health and well-being of children and to ensure safe and meaningful play.”

One of the best aspects of Playworks is that it’s a year-long program. For the first week, multiple instructors visit a school and teach all of the games, and then one full-time program coordinator stays at the school everyday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. until summer arrives.  The Playworks coordinator is active all day, bringing game time to classes in order to help kids stay mentally alert, while also bonding with classmates and teachers. Playworks believes that incorporating fitness and fun in daily activities is key in promoting good academic progress among children.

In Newark, Playworks has formed a fourth and fifth grade all-girls basketball team that practices every week and plays against other Playworks teams in the area. In addition to the basketball team, Playworks has also put together a co-ed volleyball league.

“The power of play and what we can accomplish at Playworks is evident,” Whitney says. “It’s infectious, contagious and addictive—all in good ways.”

Being active and successful in 27 cities is a great accomplishment, but President Vialet, hopes to expand way past that number in the next few years. Ultimately, Vialet’s main goal with Playworks is to make sure that “every kid in America gets to play everyday.”




By Lindsay Stein