Active Playful Learning in Oregon
Teaching Preschool Partners & Active Playful Learning
For over 10 years, Teaching Preschool Partners has worked in both preschool and elementary school classrooms, supporting more than 30 districts across 11 counties. Our focus has always been on playful, hands-on learning practices that help children thrive. The APL study builds on this foundation—not as something new, but as the next step in a decade of proven practice. By extending what we know works in preschool into elementary schools, we’re helping districts create joyful, effective learning communities that grow with their students.
Active Playful Learning: The National Study
Teaching Preschool Partners is excited to announce a new partnership with Active Playful Learning (APL), a multi-state initiative supported by the LEGO Foundation, to bring cutting-edge, research-backed learning experiences to children. This collaboration is rooted in the science of learning, which shows that when students are actively engaged and joyfully participating through hands-on and culturally relevant experiences, they learn more deeply, retain information longer, and build essential life skills. Oregon joins the national study alongside sites in Texas, California, Illinois, and Virginia.
Active Playful Learning is the culmination of a national research collaboration among leading scholars from Temple University, the University of New Hampshire, the University of Virginia, the University of California Irvine, and the University of Chicago. Several nationally recognized researchers, including Roberta Golinkoff and Dale Farran, also serve as consultants to the project. The initiative integrates rigorous academic content with purposeful, guided play—an approach supported by decades of research showing that learning is most effective when it is active, engaging, meaningful, socially interactive, and joyful.
This evidence-based framework helps children build the 6 Cs—Collaboration, Communication, Content, Critical Thinking, Creative Innovation, and Confidence—a suite of skills identified by researchers Kathy Hirsh-Pasek and Roberta Golinkoff as essential for thriving in school and beyond. The approach draws on studies demonstrating that guided play—learning experiences that are both structured and exploratory—leads to better academic and social-emotional outcomes than either free play or direct instruction alone (Brookings Institution).
How will it look in Oregon?
Teaching Preschool Partners will participate in the final three years of this five-year study. During this period, Teaching Preschool Partners will:
- Form district-based Advisory Groups of teachers and administrators to co-design and guide implementation.
- Provide professional development and coaching in APL’s six core teaching practices, with classroom modeling and observation.
- Equip teachers with materials and tools to create engaging, “hands-on, minds-on” learning experiences.
- Foster community engagement to involve principals, educators, and families.
- Collect and contribute data to the APL Data Center through a partnership with Oregon State University to measure growth in teaching practices and student outcomes.
Oregon's APL Sites
Tigard-Tualatin School District new partner in the APL in Oregon initiative, and we are excited to begin this work together in the 2025–26 school year. Building on our experience supporting K+ alignment in other districts, this collaboration launches a pilot of professional learning communities where TTSD educators can explore playful, inquiry-based approaches to teaching and learning.
As a new partner, TTSD brings fresh perspectives and energy to the effort of creating classrooms that foster curiosity, creativity, and collaboration. This new relationship offers the opportunity to co-design from the start—learning alongside teachers, children, and families as we shape practices that connect strongly to the needs and aspirations of the Tigard-Tualatin community.
TTSD serves ~11,496 students across Clackamas and Washington County with 83 languages spoken, 23% of students as ever english learners and 24% of students experiencing poverty (ODE Report card).
Teaching Preschool Partners has partnered with Parkrose School District since 2015, beginning with the Prescott Teaching Preschool and later expanding to Sacramento, Shaver, and Russell Elementary Schools—bringing high-quality preschool programs to every elementary school in the district. These classrooms serve both as joyful learning spaces for children and as demonstration sites for inquiry-based teaching.
Our collaboration has focused on bridging preschool with the early elementary years, with teachers from PreK through 2nd grade working together in professional learning communities. Through the APL in Oregon initiative, we are building on this foundation by extending alignment into Kindergarten through 4th grade, supporting teachers as they nurture curiosity, creativity, and collaboration across the early years.
PSD serves ~2,766 students across Multnomah County with 50 languages spoken, 31% of students as ever english learners and 45% of students experiencing poverty (ODE Report card data).
Building a Movement
Community Engagement
Why It Matters
Playful learning lays the foundation for lifelong success. That’s why we’ve partnered with the Oregon Education Association to host educator sessions and launched a Southern Oregon cohort at Rogue Primary (Central Point SD), where APL practices are already in use. These gatherings give teachers space to learn together, see playful learning in action, and bring new ideas back to their classrooms.
What’s Next
This year, we’re planning more cohorts and community gatherings across Oregon. Building on the momentum of OEA sessions and our Southern Oregon work, we’re creating more opportunities for families and educators to connect and grow.
Upcoming events coming soon!
Your support makes this possible. Help us bring playful learning to more communities.
Policy & Advocacy
Across the country, momentum for play-based learning is growing. Three states have already passed laws supporting playful learning in elementary classrooms (Brookings, New America).
Here in Oregon, SB 948 was introduced in the 2025 session (Bill Tracker). While it did not pass committee, it sparked a vital new political conversation and opened the door to future opportunities.
We are now seeking partnerships with policy advocacy coalitions and organizations to build momentum, align with Oregon’s education priorities, and ensure that playful learning becomes a reality in classrooms across the state.
More updates to come.
The Research
What is APL and how is it aligned to the Science of Learning?
The Science of Learning
The Science of Learning and APL’s contributions to student interest and educational outcomes
Join the Movement: Support Active Playful Learning in Oregon
YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS make it possible for Oregon teachers and students to experience Active Playful Learning, at no cost to districts. Coaching, professional development, and classroom materials are all provided free of charge, thanks to supporters like you.
We’re building something big and we need all the help we can get. Your gift keeps this work moving forward, bringing joy, creativity, and connection into classrooms across the state.
Every contribution, large or small, helps teachers feel supported and students thrive. Thank you for being part of this movement!