Dodgeball, Related Games to Return to Windham Curriculum

A consensus decision was made by the Windham School Board on Tuesday to accept a committee recommendation to reinstate dodgeball and other "human target" games into the curriculum this fall.

The move comes two months after board members decided to take another look at both dodgeball and the physical education curriculum.

The board voted 4-1 in March to remove 10 games from the curriculum. The decision was made based on a recommendation from a committee of district professionals.

A new committee was formed in April, and Golden Brook School Vice Principal Rory O'Connor explained Thursday how the 11-member group addressed concerns originally voiced by board members.

Game names carrying negative connotations such as "prison ball" and "slaughter" have been changed to "repair shop" and "numero uno" respectively.

The notion that the district didn't offer students alternatives was also addressed through a concept called differentiation.

"To provide an example, if you take a look at a game at Windham High School recently changed to the name of cage ball, students may participate in that particular game, with the option of also participating in the cardio room or weight room for additional exercise or they may also participate as roaming officials," said O'Connor.

Stephanie Wimmer, the school board's vice chair, thanked O'Connor and the committee for the changes, but wondered if evaluating students on their ability to throw things at other children is the best that the district can do.

"As we move forward, I guess I'll just ask the theoretical question – 'can we not do better as a district?'"

Wimmer, along with her fellow board members, received national media attention for their vote to remove the games in March.

She spoke publicly for the first time about some of the negative communications she received from people across the country.

"I had to take my phone number off the district website because I got very unpleasant anonymous phone calls, and I got some of the most obscene emails, as did others on the board and our staff, and it's all of George Carlin's top words that I received."

Board member Dennis Senibaldi was the lone dissenter in the March vote to remove the games.

Senibaldi applauded the students, two of whom were his twin sons, who submitted petitions to the district after the decision was made.

He later thanked the new committee for coming back with the recommendation to implement the games next school year.

Chairman Mike Joanis said he was disappointed that so much time and energy has been spent on a game that might be played a couple of times a year.

He also asked whether the new committee reached out to the individuals who previously voiced issues, which O'Connor said didn't happen.

Erin Shirley, physical education teacher at Windham Middle School, stood up to diffuse concerns about safety in dodgeball-type games.

"I've had injuries on a few occasions over the years in other activities – flag football, basketball, etc. We don't typically have injuries in the nerf ball games."

She noted that teachers are right in the games officiating, and if anything unsafe takes place, a student is removed, spoken to and the expectations of the game are re-explained.

Shirley also explained that the brutal names like "slaughter" were adopted from the long history of the games, and that the district had no personal attachment to them.

The school district will begin a comprehensive review of the PE curriculum in the fall, a plan that was set in motion at the same time that a new committee was directed to take a second look at dodgeball.