Playworks New England Coach Returns to Alma Mater to Run Recess

As a former Boston Public Schools student, Fidelis Teixeira, 26, of Dorchester, never learned how to play. He attended Boston Renaissance Charter School from kindergarten through 7th grade during a time when there was no scheduled recess - only street pick-up games which often led to altercations between students. Back then, the school was located within a high-rise in downtown Boston where there was no playground or blacktop. Ironically, now he is an expert of play. He teaches adults games and activities to facilitate for students during recess at his alma mater and other elementary schools as a Site Coordinator for Playworks New England.

Playworks New England is a regional branch of a national nonprofit working to bring play and physical activity into elementary schools in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire as a means to improve the health and well-being of children and to enhance learning. Through onsite direct-service coaching and training of school faculty and staff, Playworks integrates physical activity and social/emotional learning and skill-building into organized activities during recess to create a space where students feel included, are active, and build valuable social and emotional skills needed to thrive in the classroom and beyond.

Teixeira works full-time providing training and onsite assistance to teachers and paid recess monitors in four communities: Michael J. Perkins Elementary School in Boston; Boston Green Academy in Brighton; Joyce Kilmer K-8 School in Boston; and Boston Renaissance Charter School in Hyde Park. He serves as a mentor to a diverse population of students, faculty, and staff and is credited with helping to transform school cultures.

Teixeira was compelled to work for Playworks New England after his experiences as a summer camper and counselor in training with an organization that brings inner city youth to the South Shore. Growing up from ages 9 to 18, he learned how to participate in group activities and outdoor excursions through the Crossroads for Kids program in ways he hadn’t been exposed to before, such as playing at the beach, hiking Yellow Stone National Park, and visiting college campuses. He keeps in contact with many of his counselors who ultimately inspired him to become a mentor himself.

“There are many young people out there who don’t get the experience of interacting with an adult who can relate to them on a certain level,” says Teixeira, who is now in his third year working for Playworks New England. “Kids can relate to play. They are interested in play. When they care about something and someone, in this case being the activities and people they play with, they focus. They learn from the games and their peers. They grow.”

As a Site Coordinator, Teixeira works one-on-one with recess monitors and educators to teach or re-teach them the rules of class childhood games, including kickball and four square. He provides them with tools and tips for communicating with students and on a rotating basis he assists with running recess on the playground for one week a month in each of his schools.

“Play can have an incredible impact on children and schools – a trickle-down effect if you will,” says Teixeira. “After a year of Playworks programming, kids walk down the hall differently. Kids relate to their peers and teachers differently. They communicate better. They can resolve many conflicts on their own. They get more involved in their community outside of school. And, it’s all because of play.”

Playworks New England offers training and full-time services for schools and youth development organizations throughout New England. In its 12th year, the nonprofit serves 65,000 students in more than 120 elementary schools across the region. To date, the nonprofit has served 210,000 youth.

For more information about Playworks New England or to become a Playworks coach, visit: http://www.playworks.org/communities/massachusetts.