School Safety Update

National School Safety Center
October 1998 - Part 1

"As a playground supervisor at an elementary school for six years, grade school playgrounds are not for the meek!" says Janis Dingwall, Cedarhurst Elementary School, Seattle. Each year over 200,000 children are injured on school playgrounds. That is 200,000 children sustain injuries serious enough to send them to the doctor or hospital.

In 1992, E. Hale Curran Elementary schools (K-5) in Murrieta, Calif., began its own study. The school was three years old with a rapidly growing population. Its playground featured typical courts and games: hopscotch, tetherball, baseball diamonds, volleyball courts, slides, swings and climbing apparatus.

In 1995, the Peaceful Playgrounds Program was instituted at E. Hales Curran School. Every institutional aide was trained in the games and their rules.

The Murrieta Valley Unified School District's maintenance crew painted the game markings on the blacktop and fields according to the blueprints. Every child was taught the games, the rules and a method of conflict resolution. A continuous motor skills training program designed to develop coordination and agility enhanced the children's ability to compete successfully on the playing field.

Gerry McGuire, an instructional aide, took the first training, offered in 1995. "Since then I've helped teach the program to new employees, students, teachers and staffs on other campuses," she says.

The Peaceful Playgrounds Program consists of five main components.

A blue print for game markings - The first objective of the program is to disperse children evenly across the entire play area (blacktop and fields). Colorful carefully spaced marking that include numbers, letters grids and various geometric shapes delineate play areas. Not only are they attractive kids, they also give the playground a cheerful look of an amusement park.

A consistent set of rules - The second objectives is to foster consistency and training for children and instructional aides. The rules for each game and piece of equipment are taught, posted and reviewed on a regular basis.

Conflict Resolution strategy - Unlike the playground of the past where students were constantly wailing to the playground supervisor to settle disputes, these students come to conclusions by playing "Rock, Paper, Scissors." They know they have three options-ones that work well to solve disputes over rule infractions:

• Walk away from the problem
• Talk-together with the person with whom you disagree until an agreement is reached, or
• Use "Rock, Paper, Scissors" game.

If the strife is the result of name-calling, teasing or hitting the youngsters involved are asked to leave their play area and are reminded that they must "work out" their disagreement before returning to the activity. Instruction in conflict resolution should outline three steps:

• Determine who started the conflict.
• Clarify the details of the incident.
• End with an apology.

Resolution usually comes quickly because students are eager to get back to their games. Having children resolve their own problems free supervisors to do what they do best - look after the safety of all those on the playground.

List of equipment required - Game area markings and rule mean nothing without ample and proper equipment. A detailed list of equipment necessary to supply the program through the 10-month school year is provided at the beginning of the year to allow for appropriate budgeting and purchasing.

Consistent expectations and training - It is especially important that the Peaceful Playgrounds Program be implemented school wide to ensure success. Each staff member must understand and support the program's objectives. Being able to play and work cooperatively empowers children and teaches them to work cooperatively in the classroom.

Melinda Bossenmeyer, principal of E. Hale Curran Elementary School in 1994-95, put the Peaceful Playground Program into practice. She trained the entire staff, custom designed the grass and blacktop play areas, wrote rules and instructions, ordered equipment and supervised construction of the playground. By the end of the 1994-95 school year, the school's enrollment had risen to over 1,200 students, but total injuries had dropped by 50 percent. In 1996-97, the school population dropped since many of the students were moved to a new facility. By 1997-98, the school population had risen to almost equal the 1995-95 school year, yet the injuries were only 17 percent of the 1995-95 totals.

Continue to Part 2 >>