RECESS SOLUTIONS

Structured Recess Programs for An Enriched In-school Athletic Experience

Maximize Opportunities to Play and Socialize at School

We Help You Create a Healthy Thriving Recess Environment

CORE’s enriched recess experience exposes students to the joys, excitement, and benefits of being physically active in a safe and fun learning environment, while also developing critical social skills such as respectful communication, teamwork, leadership, and conflict resolution.

Our trained coaches lead organized activities imbued with Social Emotional Learning (SEL) strategies designed to improve students’ physical activity levels, reduce bullying, enhance emotional regulation, and increase prosocial behavior—outcomes that are measurable and evidence-based.

Through the guidance of highly trained SEL certified Coaches, our Structured Recess Program empowers students and faculty to co-create a thriving recess culture built on trust, collaboration, responsible decision making, and educational excellence.

Program Pillars

The Foundation for an Enriched Athletic Experience

When these pillars are in place, recess becomes more than play—it becomes a meaningful opportunity for learning, growth, and character development.

Why Implement Recess Enrichment at Your School?

The Current Recess & Physical Education Landscape

Since the COVID-19 Pandemic, students have faced unprecedented circumstances that altered the traditional in-person learning environment and interfered with formative social experiences, including Recess and Physical Education (PE) programs. With reductions in scheduled PE time and an increasing reliance on unstructured recess, many students—particularly in under-resourced schools—are left without adequate support for physical activity, emotional well-being, or positive peer engagement during the school day.

As an extension of the classroom, recess is a critical part of a child’s social and emotional development, providing supplementary opportunities to learn and grow: physically, cognitively, emotionally, and socially.

“The excessive use of screens during the pandemic led to numerous consequences for children and adolescents, with a higher incidence of visual damage, sedentary lifestyle, inadequate eating habits and increased weight gain, in addition to impaired sleep quality and mental health.”

— NCBI.NLM.NIH.GOV

The increase in screen time, due to remote learning, has also undermined children’s development. As students spend more of their day using technology, they face an increased likelihood of a variety of developmental problems.

“Exercise, games, time outdoors and other hallmarks of PE can play a key role in helping students readjust to in-person school, especially after a year that’s left many students stressed and out of shape.”

— EdSource.org

Recess can present social challenges for children. Without adult supervision and oversight, Recess can become an unfair, exclusionary, and unsafe environment. The result: social anxiety, a decrease in self-esteem and confidence, and other adverse developmental effects.

“Kids learn important communication skills during recess with situations that require cooperation, problem solving, negotiation, and compromise. Furthermore, adaptation and coping skills, including perseverance and self-control, are required during these interactions. ”

— ARS.USDA.GOV

Evidence for Structured Play

Expand to Learn More

High-quality recess—characterized by adult supervision, access to equipment, and proactive conflict resolution—directly supports students’ executive functioning, resilience, and self-control. It also significantly reduces instances of bullying (Massey, 2021).
Structured movement breaks have been shown to enhance academic performance. In California, schools that prioritize physical activity report positive correlations between student fitness levels and standardized test scores (CSBA, 2007).
Unstructured or unsupervised play environments can contribute to increased anxiety and depression. In contrast, safe, well-managed recess promotes emotional well-being and reduces psychological distress (Thomas, 2023).

Recess Enrichment Benefits

Grounded in SEL, CORE’s Structured Recess Program develops strong athletes with stronger characters by fostering key interpersonal skills such as resilience, empathy, communication, and leadership. Through supervised structured play, students build confidence, develop healthy habits, and form meaningful connections that enhance their academic and personal success.

How Does Recess Solutions Work?

We Collaborate With Your Team to Create a Structured Recess Program and Sustainable System Focused on Physical Literacy.

Our Program is grounded in best practices from behavioral psychology, education, and youth sports

Reinforced Positive Interactions through Safe, Fair, Inclusive Play Environments

Supervised Structured Activities with Consistent Universal Rules Maximize Play

Onsite Training of Your Team with Insightful Supervision & Expert Coaching

Promotion of a Healthy Culture by Developing New Social Dynamics Among Students

We Provide Expert Coaching & Mentorship To Your Team

What sets CORE Apart is our Commitment to High-Quality Coaching and Social Emotional Learning Based Athletics Curriculums.

Every CORE Coach Completes a Certified SEL Training before leading any program. This preparation equips them to model emotional intelligence, guide positive peer interactions, and create environments where all students feel supported and included.

We view kids as whole people, deserving of the same patience, respect, and care as adults. Our Coaches are trained to create inclusive, nurturing spaces where children feel safe to learn, play, and grow.

What Does Implementation Look Like?

We Collaborate with You to develop your school’s custom recess solution.

We meet with you to learn about your school’s values, current landscape, and recess environment.
We assess your needs and provide specific recommendations to accomplish program goals.
We develop a customized plan of action, including a program timeline (typically 5-months per session), goals, and budget. We advise each school to invest in two sessions aligned with the school year: August - December; January - May.
We work with your staff to seamlessly integrate onsite and implement a long-term sustainable recess solution at your school.

Our Goal is to Build Your School Staff’s Capacity to Execute. Throughout the program, school staff will receive professional development in recess facilitation, SEL, and inclusive play strategies.

In some cases, we partner with the school PTA (or similar organization to assist with funding).