“Brick Clubs” Are Reaching Students Previously Unable to Connect, Open Up Socially

Emily Sanders knows how it looks. “At first I thought, ‘That’s it? They’re just in there playing with LEGOs?’”

But as Beaver Area’s assistant superintendent soon discovered, what happens in Brick Clubs can change a student’s life. “It’s almost like magic,” Sanders explains. “When you look at the research and see the results, you realize, ‘Hey, we’re doing something special here.’”

Using the “Brick-by-Brick” approach jointly developed by UK-based nonprofit Play Included and the LEGO Foundation, Brick Clubs use intentional, collaborative play to help kids develop communication skills, meaningful relationships, and a sense of belonging and pride.

“Post-pandemic, students everywhere are struggling with issues of anxiety and mental health,” says Jeremy Selepec, Beaver Area school counselor and Brick Club instructor. “We’ve found Brick Clubs break down those walls. I’ve been able to reach students who hadn’t previously wanted to open up socially and emotionally. Brick Clubs also facilitate future-ready skills such as problem solving, communication, collaboration, persistence, and most of all, joy.”

Beaver Area’s Brick-by-Brick Program is one of the first such programs in an American public school district, brought here by Sanders through her partnerships with The Matt’s Makerspace Foundation and the Project Baseplate Program at Carnegie Mellon University’s Center for Transformational Play.

Brick Clubs are the latest tool in Beaver Area’s laser-like focus on preparing kids for the future. That focus led Beaver Area to the Western Pennsylvania Learning 2025 Alliance, a regional cohort of school districts working together — with support from The Grable Foundation — to create student-centered, equity-focused, future-driven schools. Led by local superintendents and AASA, The School Superintendents Association, the Alliance convenes to help districts like Beaver Area prepare every learner for tomorrow.

Soon, other districts will look to Beaver Area as they start Brick Clubs of their own: Sanders is one of just four certified Brick-by- Brick trainers in the United States, and inquiries are already pouring in from school systems across the country. “It’s catching on like wildfire,” says Sanders.

Thank you,

Glenda, Charlie and David Cates