COON RAPIDS, Minn. -- Elementary students in the Anoka Hennepin School District have a new tool to make friends and feel connected on the playground.
A buddy bench has been installed at all 24 elementary schools in District 11.
When Sara Evans' children came home from the first day of school on Tuesday, her first grader told her mom "At recess, she didn't have anybody to play with or she didn't play with anybody."
Evans' third grader quickly offered up a solution.
He said to his sister, "Well you have to go to the buddy bench and wait until somebody sits down with you."
The buddy bench is the district's newest communication tool.
Children may not feel comfortable saying "I need a friend today" but when a child sits on the buddy bench, it sends an instant message to their classmates.
"It's saying I'm not connected, I want to be connected," says Sue Denlinger, Eisenhower Elementary School social worker.
During third grade recess at the school on Thursday, CTN News witnessed many students who used the buddy bench to connect.
In one situation, a young boy sits down at the buddy bench. Soon, a young girl notices and comes over to strike up a conversation and asks him to play. Within moments, they're off playing together.
The school social worker says feeling connected, especially for children this early on in the school year and in life will have lasting effects.
"When students are feeling isolated and alienated, their chance of success of reduced," adds Denlinger.
Something mom Sara Evans says she's glad her children's school district is not willing to accept.
The Anoka Hennepin Educational Foundation provided a $13,000 grant to pay for the buddy benches.
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