To explore the power of play in elementary education and to share recent findings about the impact healthy recess can have on the entire school community, Playworks Twin Cities and InCommons partnered together to host a unique and playful event. Principals, social workers, teachers and educational experts spent an evening playing, learning and discussing the issues about play in our schools. The event was designed to inspire a broader conversation in-person and online about the importance of games and physical activity in a school environment.

Playworks Founder and CEO, Jill Vialet was joined on stage by Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Nancy Barrand in a facilitated discussion about the results of a recent study by Mathmatica. The study shows a statistically significant improvement on bullying on the playground and student focus in the classroom in Playworks schools. Together they explored the challenges faced by teachers every day and the role a safe and active recess can have in improving learning environments.

The discussion was preceded with games where participants jumped rope, played four-square and dodge ball and were exposed to the high-energy elements that help create a more active and playful recess. Afterward, participants sat in small groups to share their own experiences and seek additional ideas from their peers about solutions to keeping play in our schools at recess and throughout the day.

The entire event was filmed by students from the High School for Recording Arts and will serve as launching pad for a broader community conversation about recess and how schools can incorporate key strategies for engaging all children in active play throughout the day.

To join this conversation and find others in your community working toward similar solutions - visit the InCommons Discussion Forum to view a short video summary from the event, read reflections and commentary and add your own comments or questions to the discussion.

Also, be sure to check out the blog post about 'Reflections on Play' by Spectra Myers and 'No Budging Allowed' by Playworks coach Khary Jackson.

All photos were taken and edited by Cornelius Sangster of the Highschool for the Recording Arts - Visual Inclusion Program.