BONUS: Using Recess to Build Social Skills and Help Students Discover their Leadership Potential (with Elizabeth Cushing)

About this episode

The episode discusses the importance of recess in building social skills and leadership potential in students, featuring insights from Elizabeth Cushing of Playworks.

Recess is often thought of as an “extra” activity in the school day. Sometimes it’s even taken away from students as a punishment. But some schools think about recess as an integral part of the school day, where students get the opportunity to connect, practice important social and problem-solving skills they’ll need for life. Others are taking it a step further and using it as a tool to help students feel more connected to their school experience, and to decrease chronic absenteeism and establish a school culture where kids feel like they belong at school. That’s why I was so excited to connect with Elizabeth Cushing from Playworks. Elizabeth Cushing is CEO of Playworks, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to using the power of play to bring out the best in every child. Elizabeth joined Playworks in 2004 and was named President and COO in 2011 and CEO in 2020. She leads Playworks' Executive Team and is responsible for the organization's strategy, operations and fiscal health. During her tenure Elizabeth has played a lead role in designing Playworks’ national scaling strategy including engaging national investors. Alongside founder, Jill Vialet, Elizabeth led the…

People in this episode

Host: Dr. Karen Dudek-Brannan

Guest: Elizabeth Cushing

Topics covered

• recess
• social skills
• leadership potential
• school culture
• student connection

Keywords

• recess
• social skills
• leadership
• Playworks
• student engagement
• school culture
• absenteeism

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Playworks

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