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New Jersey’s Star-Ledger reports on the efforts of Newark’s Newton Street School to improve the classroom environment by teaching kids to play organized games at recess. 

With the help of a coach from Sports4Kids, a nonprofit program that places trained coaches on school playgrounds to lead activities designed to increase teamwork and leadership and decrease conflict and bullying, school officials noted marked changes in student interaction and focus in and out of the classroom. 

The article mentions Harvard Family Research Project's evaluation of the Sports4Kids program at a Boston elementary school, which found a link between students' participation in Sports4Kids playground activities and improved in-class behavior.

Excerpt from the article:
“Sports4Kids cites studies and articles showing its benefits. Suspensions dropped in some Baltimore schools, according to Education Week; teamwork and cooperation skills improved at a school in Boston, and transferred to the classroom, according to the Harvard Family Research Project.”

Read the full article on NJ.com, the online edition of The Star-Ledger.

© 2010 Presidents and Fellows of Harvard College
Published by Harvard Family Research Project