Recess
Education news, analysis, and opinion about breaks from the structured school day for games, play, or socializing
7 Things to Know About School Recess
Why is recess important? Here are 7 findings about recess, the role it plays in the development of children, and how it's evolved over time.
School & District Management
News in Brief
Arizona Gov. Ducey Signs Law Requiring Recess Time for Students
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey last week signed a proposal that requires schools to expand recess for young students, a measure that aims to give kids more time for unstructured play.
Student Well-Being & Movement
Watch: Parents Push for (and Win) More School Recess Time
Why a pair of moms set out on a mission to ensure that every elementary school in their state offered recess.
Families & the Community
Video
Parent Changemaker: Fighting for School Recess
“We were upset that our children weren't getting what they needed. We were determined to get to the bottom of it and to change it,” said Florida parent Angela Browning. Browning became alarmed when her 8-year old twins came home from 2nd grade stressed and crying. A little investigation uncovered that their school had dropped recess, meaning students often had little open time during the day. To Browning, that was not acceptable. She and fellow parent Amy Narvaez began an effort to bring back recess, never imagining it would take them three years and hours of advocating both at the local and state level.
Narvaez and Browning are featured as part of a series we are calling Parent Changemakers - parents who became troubled about a school issue and tackled it head on.
School Climate & Safety
Opinion
The Importance of Play, Recess, Mindfulness and Leadership
Common sense and a plethora of research demands we think and act differently in order to stop the growing stressors on our children and we must learn how to help them deal with this environment more effectively.
School Climate & Safety
News in Brief
Florida Educators Told Indoor Recess Permissible Under New State Law
Florida schools can comply with the state's new recess mandate without having to take children outside.
Education
Opinion
Recess Is Not a Frill
Playtime enhances academic learning while building social skills.
Teaching
Rethinking Recess (Video)
Playworks, a nonprofit working in 21 states, promotes structured recess, complete with designated staff that runs games and promotes leadership and conflict resolution for students.
Student Well-Being & Movement
Video
Rethinking Recess
Schools have sometimes trimmed recess to make more time for instruction, or withheld the daily break as punishment for misbehavior. Yet research shows this time can be used to reinforce a positive school culture. Playworks is a national nonprofit that promotes organized, intentional recess. A study of the model shows that children learn and practice conflict resolution, compromise, and self-regulation, as well as leadership and physical activity. Essential components of this model include treating recess with the same intentionality as academic lesson plans, having dedicated staff to organize and model games, establish common rules, use simple tools to resolve disagreements such as rock-paper-scissors, and foster positive language.
School & District Management
CDC, SHAPE America Provide Schools Strategies for Successful Recess
The CDC and SHAPE America have produced 19 evidence-based strategies to help schools develop a recess plan that would meet the recommended 20 minutes of daily recess for students.
School & District Management
New Research Brief Supports Recess for All Elementary School Students
Researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz evaluated the Playworks recess model and called on states and districts around the country to implement some of the program's policies.
Education
Opinion
Whole-Child Journey: Why We Bumped Recess Up to 40 Minutes a Day
Our students need more...not less. And when we say more...we mean mindfulness and recess.
School & District Management
A Texas School District Plans to Mandate Daily Recess for Elementary Students
An administrator with the Austin Independent School District said providing 30 minutes of daily recess is a part of educating the whole child.
School & District Management
New Rhode Island Law Mandates Daily School Recess, Calls It a Student's Right
The law passed after parent groups lobbied for it and will require schools to provide 20 consecutive minutes of recess daily for students in kindergarten through 6th grade.
Education
Opinion
Florida Senate Denies Parent Request for Required Recess
A group of Florida parents pushing for required recess in public elementary schools did not get a chance to present the request to the state Senate.