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DA District Administration
What is the future of recess in K-12?
Elementary schools are extending the school day so students can have more play time
By: Steven Blackburn
December 10, 2019
Many districts plan to or have already extended the elementary school
day to accommodate more recess. Other school systems could register
free play as class time. But some students will lose school recess once
they get into middle school.
In Utah, public schools could count recess as instructional time under
a new policy that the State Board of Education agreed to vote on later,
reported Deseret News.
In Arkansas, a new state law that requires elementary schools to
provide at least 40 minutes of school recess every day led North Little
Rock School District to extend the elementary school day by 20 minutes,
the district’s executive director of elementary curriculum, assessment
and accountability told Arkansas Democrat Gazette.
In Indiana, Carmel Clay Schools is considering lengthening the
elementary school day to add more recess and instructional time for the
2020-21 school year, which would cost approximately $350,000 annually,
the district superintendent told Current.
Meanwhile, Derby Public Schools in Kansas will eliminate recess and
shorten classes in middle school to add a new eight-period bell
schedule for the 2020-2021 school year, reported the DerbyInformer.com.
“Going from fifth grade where [students] have recess built into
the day … to transitioning [into] middle school, where we take that
away from them, we know we need to get our sixth graders more active,”
said a Derby middle school principal.
Making time for more recess
In New York, Bridgehampton Union Free School District uses
freeplay to support mental health programs, reported District
Administration. Called MEGA Recess, grade-schoolers earn tickets by
participating in activities, such as dancing, board games and video
games. Students who win 40 tickets can unlock the next MEGA Recess for
the following month.
To make room for school recess, principals can take minutes from
non-instruction time, such as when students change classrooms, walk to
the lunchroom or get ready to go outside. “In a day, there are
definitely 20 minutes that can be collected so that students can enjoy
daily recess,” Tarrah DeClemente, manager of health promotion at
Chicago Public Schools, told DA.
As far as supervision, schools can hire recess coaches or rotate staff.
“Recess is just as important as math, science and other curricular
courses,” DeClemente said.
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