District plans Playworks partnership using $395,000 Stronger Connections grant to reduce playground incidents

Administration told the board that the district was awarded a $395,000 Stronger Connections grant and proposed using the funds to expand universal student supports in K–6, including a partnership with Playworks.

District staff said the grant application relied on eligibility metrics (roughly 600–650 students qualifying as economically disadvantaged) and behavioral-incident data showing students with disabilities and economically disadvantaged students were overrepresented in playground incident reports. The district framed Playworks as a tier-one preventive program; staff said Playworks coaches spend a week per month in each building during the two-year partnership and train recess supervisors and junior coaches from fifth and sixth grades.

Administration described Playworks’ objectives: increase active recess time, reduce bullying reports and build student leadership through a junior-coach model. Presenters cited Playworks’ national impact data: recess participation can rise toward 90% in partner schools and bullying can fall by roughly 43% in some implementations. Board members asked how long the coach would be on site, how many students would become junior coaches, and what costs the district would incur after the two-year grant period; staff said they would return with specific participation and cost projections.

Superintendent/staff said the district will monitor monthly office-referral data (majors and minors) and communicate Playworks’ progress to staff and the public in monthly updates. The district emphasized the goal of building capacity over the grant period so schools can sustain the model locally if the data demonstrate success.

Sources: grant announcement and presentation to the board on April 8 (district staff).