Thinking Outside the Classroom to Help Children Achieve

February 8, 2010 by Olu Johnson

Helping young people stay active can increase their academic acheivement.

One of our long-standing focuses has been on raising student achievement across the Bay Area.  One of the ways we’ve done this is through our Community School model which integrates multiple  support services like mentoring and parenting programs, with school activities in low-income neighborhoods. This has yielded significant results for students including reduced violence, better attendance and higher academic achievement.

United Way is also working with partners like the NFL who are focused on children’s health and encourage young people to be more active both within school and in their everyday lives.

Well according to recent survey of elementary school principals this seems to be a winning solution.  As reported by Tonic “giving kids the opportunity to play at recess every day helps them listen better, stay more focused and develop socially.”

“The survey, sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, National Association of Elementary School Principals and Playworks, assessed the opinions of 2,000 principals around the country, revealed that heads of schools are convinced that recess helps kids both in academics and in life. Four out of five of those surveyed reported that recess positively impacts students’ learning, two-thirds stated that students listen better after they’ve run around outside, and just about all see recess as having a positive effect on kids’ social development and general well-being.”