It's Cool to be Kind

Nafis Johnson, 10, of Philadelphia, is helping to create a supportive, inclusive environment on the playground for the young students of Chester A. Arthur School. As a Junior Coach for Playworks Pennsylvania, the fifth grader leads K-1 students in games and social-emotional skill building activities on the playground at his school during recess. When disagreements or bullying arise, Johnson knows what to do, helping kids talk out their problems or use ro-sham-bo to resolve conflicts. As a role model for kindergartners and first graders, Johnson is teaching kids that win or lose, it’s cool to be kind.

In fact, Johnson is such a great role model that he was recently invited to the Statehouse in Harrisburg to play recess games with members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. At the event, Johnson shared his experience as a junior coach on the playground and how he is leading his peers by example to be more kind, respectful, and inclusive. Johnson was joined by State Representative Jared Solomon, Playworks Pennsylvania Executive Director Ivy Olesh and his very engaged mother who is supportive of the program at the Statehouse to kick off National Bullying Prevention Month and Playworks’ Real Players Don’t Bully campaign, which launched in Playworks partner elementary schools nationwide this month.

This is Johnson’s second year as a junior coach. The Playworks Junior Coach program gives selected 4th and 5th grade students the tools they need to navigate through school and through life. As Junior Coaches, students lead peers through games during recess on the playground. Wearing Junior Coach T-shirts and carrying whistles, they work with Playworks coaches to help classmates engage with one another, develop teamwork, inclusion and conflict resolution skills, and have fun, while developing their own self-confidence and leadership skills.

More than 3.2 million students report feeling left out or bullied at school each year. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than seven percent of all students admit to skipping school due to fear for personal safety from physical and verbal bullying. Through his training as a Junior Coach, Johnson has learned how important it is to encourage his young peers on the playground and reinforce positive behavior and communication to prevent bullying and exclusion.

“Methods like Ro-Sham-Bo, also called rock, paper, scissors, is the ultimate go-to to dispute conflicts on the recess yard,” says Johnson. “I give positive reinforcements to help keep the positivity up and stop the games and invite kids to play if I notice kids are being left out.”

Julian Renwrick, 28, of Philadelphia, has worked for Playworks Pennsylvania for more than two years and currently serves as a Program Coordinator at Chester A. Arthur School. Playworks coaches attend a three-week long training on how to be a coach and handle conflict on the playground, and they pass these tools down to the junior coaches they mentor during bi-monthly trainings.

“My relationship with my junior coaches is a really strong and close family type relationship. I teach them new techniques to deal with problems they see on the playground every day, such as bullying or children who don’t want to or know how to play,” says Renwrick. “I’ve seen Nafis develop to be a really great leader on the recess yard by still enforcing positive play even when he’s not at school.”

Playworks Pennsylvania, part of a national nonprofit, partners with elementary schools, school districts, and afterschool programs across the country, providing the tools and resources needed to ensure that every kid, regardless of race, socioeconomic background, or athletic ability, experiences safe and healthy play every day.

“At Playworks Pennsylvania, our goal is to create a culture of play that enables kids to feel a real sense of belonging,” says Ivy Olesh, Executive Director of Playworks Pennsylvania. “The Junior Coaches empower kids to be leaders and serve as mentors for the younger students to model positive, inclusive behavior.”

Playworks Pennsylvania is leading the regional play movement. This school year, the nonprofit, part of the national Playworks organization, is ensuring that approximately 30,000 kids in more than 45 schools across the state offer safe and healthy play to their students. The Real Players Don’t Bully campaign is supported by Google’s Be Internet Awesome, which promotes being kind online.