Power Up Your Recess Team

Recess Team: the team of adults present at and responsible for recess periods at a school.

Recess Teams ensure that:

  • Recess is running smoothly
  • Plans and systems are in place to effectively manage recess
  • All adults at recess have clear roles and responsibilities
  • Play is safe and healthy

The Recess Team improves overall school climate by teaching valuable social and emotional skills and reducing negative spillover into class from conflicts at recess.

What are some of the typical roles and responsibilities of this team? Members of the recess team may be:

  • Recess Coordinator: leads the team
  • Recess Coaches: adults and/or student leaders actively engaging in games 
  • Administrative Representative: makes sure that recess is a priority

Members of the Recess Team facilitate or monitor specific game stations at recess, like four square or Three-Lines Basketball.  They might be actively playing in the game or cheering from the sidelines.

By participating in play, team members are helping supervise the playground by checking in with students and addressing issues before they escalate. Team members also play an important role by rotating responsibilities for game stations, managing equipment, or directing student leaders.

 

What you can try this week:

Working as a team to create a thoughtful strategy for managing recess results in more engaged students and more positive relationships. One place to begin is setting up weekly or bi-weekly team meetings to check in with each other, gauge progress, and set goals. Here’s a potential agenda for your team’s first meeting:

  1. Discuss the state of recess. What challenges are occurring? What solutions might exist?
  2. Decide when and how often the recess team will meet.
  3. Agree on roles and responsibilities. Who is responsible for what game or what area of the playground?
  4. Agree to a rotation for game station assignments, such as weekly or bi-monthly. For example, which adult would like to be responsible for Knock-Down Soccer versus Magic Tag next week?

These meetings provide an opportunity for thoughtful planning. They create milestones for team building, consistency and accountability goals, and the opportunity to decide on rotating leadership roles.

 

Print out this poster and get started!