I am writing this on Halloween, so it is easy to talk about what is scary. For me it is not ghosts or costumes. It is kids not showing up to school.
What if we could do two things at the same time.
- Give kids real access to sport, play and caring adults.
- Help solve one of the biggest problems in our public schools right now, which is attendance.
We are starting to see that we actually can.
You know I am usually a story guy. I like to talk about the kid, not just the number. Lately the stories and the numbers are lining up in a way that is hard to ignore.
- In Washington, DC a fifth grade girl who had missed about 60 percent of school in the first month is now coming every day since TOP Self started.
- In Hartford, a girl who was staying in a homeless shelter started coming because she loved our program and did not want to miss it.
- In Kitwe, Zambia, staff reported that kids from rural areas are now attending because 2-4-1 days are the best days. They do not want to miss.
That is two countries. Three settings. Same message.
Kids will come to school when there is something funl, when they feel like they belong, and when they know an adult will be happy to see them.
Here is where the data part matters.
- In schools where we run 2-4-1 TOP Self Sports, more than 9 out of 10 students report using our self regulation strategies during the school day. That means they are not just having fun after school. They are bringing it into class.
- About 96 percent of kids in our programs say they feel more connected at school. Connected kids come to school.
- Districts tell us that every day a student shows up is a day they do not have to chase, call, or send support staff out to a home. That is real time and real money.
- Our program costs less than what it takes to run chronic absenteeism interventions over and over for the same student.
So what is actually going on here?
We make it fun. We teach that regulating your emotions is a sports skill. We give kids a place to belong. We put them in front of positive adults. We let them move in ways that feel good. When kids have that, school becomes a place they want to be, not just a place they are told to be.
You have heard me say before that our schools should be our recreation centers. Now we have stories and we have numbers. Attendance goes up when kids have something to look forward to. Attendance goes up when they have tools to handle hard feelings. Attendance goes up when the adults are consistent.
So the scary thing is not Halloween.
The scary thing is empty gyms, empty cafeterias and empty classrooms.
The hopeful thing is that we already know how to fill them.
Let’s keep doing it.
About Steve Boyle
Steve Boyle is a connector, collaborator, and tireless advocate for making youth sports more playful, inclusive, and developmentally sound. As Executive Director of 2-4-1 CARE, Inc. and Co-Founder of 2-4-1 Sports, Steve has helped lead a growing movement to reshape the youth sports experience—one that puts the joy of play and the whole child at the center. Grounded in his background as a school counselor and coach, Steve co-created the award-winning TOP Self™ platform, which uses sport as a vehicle for social-emotional learning. Under his collaborative leadership, 2-4-1 has grown from a single program in West Hartford, Connecticut to a global nonprofit impacting communities across North America and Africa. Steve’s influence extends beyond his own organization. He served as Advisory Board Chair for the National Association of Physical Literacy and as Global Lead for Athletics and Physical Literacy at Whittle School & Studios, shaping programming in Washington, D.C. and Shenzhen. Whether working with local partners or global networks, Steve brings humility, heart, and a belief in the power of teamwork to everything he does.