Playworks is a national nonprofit organization that provides coaching and professional development to teach, model, and empower a sustainable elementary school recess programs. District schools may purchase one of three Playworks programs to support recess activities:

1. Playworks Coach, which provides a full-time coach to facilitate organized play during recess and class time,
2. Playworks Pro, which provides professional development to school staff, and
3. Playworks TeamUp, which is intended to be a sustainable middle ground between the Coach and Pro models.

The TeamUp model provides schools with an on-site recess consultant one week (40 hours) per month. The consultant models and demonstrates best practices and provides ongoing training and consultation for the recess team.

ORE conducted two single-year evaluations of the Playworks TeamUp model, examining the implementation and outcomes in participating schools.

• School staff generally gave positive feedback about the Playworks program.
• Staff at many schools reported that a lack of consistency was a major implementation challenge.
• School staff said they would prefer a full-time staff member to implement and manage the TeamUp model.

Contact the Office of Research and Evaluation: research@philasd.org.