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Chandler Patton Miranda, a Brooklyn mom, pulled her son from his neighborhood elementary school this year. The last straw: The school kept its youngest kids indoors for recess as the older ones took the state English tests last spring.
Teachers told her son’s kindergarten class at P.S. 139 they were “too loud,” and they didn’t want to disrupt the testing conditions for the students in grades 3-5, Miranda said. Instead of playing outside, her son watched part of the Disney movie, “Wish.”
“They want kids to be docile and quiet. It’s a lack of creativity and a lack of prioritization of kids’ physical well-being,” Miranda said.
Now, they’ve traded their six-block walk to the Ditmas Park school for a six-stop subway ride to P.S. 456, the Elizabeth Jennings School for Bold Explorers, a progressive school that opened this year in Downtown Brooklyn. The kids there go outside everyday.
A growing number of New York City parents are frustrated by how frequently their kids spend recess indoors, often watching movies. Schools are not required to list or report their recess policies, much to the dismay of many parents, who want more information on how much outdoor time or play their children get during the school day. Many are concerned that it’s an equity issue: Kids who get less outdoor recess tend to be those in poor urban areas, studies have shown.
P.S. 456, which is open to students across Brooklyn and gives priority to students from low-income families, offers “forest school,” where kids go to Prospect Park once a week to explore nature and bring findings back to the classroom for further investigations, Miranda said. The school works closely with the Brooklyn New School, known for its emphasis on progressive project-based learning over test prep. Similar to that school, P.S. 456 students will add swim lessons and bike-riding classes as it phases in higher grades.
“The values at 456 align with what we value: being outside, being a good citizen, learning through play,” said Miranda, an education professor whose research focuses on the experiences of recently arrived immigrant youth in New York City schools. “I think there’s a pervasive ideology that recess is a waste of time at many other schools.”
As an education expert, Miranda knows the research showing that daily recess brings an array of physical, social, and academic benefits. She’s seen how a lack of recess is often a bigger problem in low-income areas than more affluent ones. Being active at recess is particularly crucial in New York City as childhood obesity significantly increased during the COVID pandemic. Black, Hispanic, and foreign-born students also have seen higher rates of childhood obesity than the 27% citywide average.
The Education Department’s wellness policy “strongly recommends” that elementary schools offer at least 20 minutes of recess for all students “on all or most days during the school year.” (It doesn’t include any recommendations for middle or high school.) Kids should go outside in the cold unless there is snow, ice, or a wind chill factor below 0 degrees, the policy states. It lists precautions to take in the heat, including limiting playtime during peak sun hours and making sure children stay hydrated.
The Education Department encourages all schools to come up with recess plans to “maximize this time for health and well-being,” spokesperson Chyann Tull wrote in an email.
“Active students are engaged students, and recess plays an important role, especially in grades K-5,” Tull said.
At least one state is taking action to codify recess: A new law in California began requiring schools this year to provide at least 30 minutes of recess during regular instructional days, unless there is a physical threat to the safety of a student or their peers. The legislation followed a study that found students in larger schools and those with more students from low-income families had less access to daily recess than their counterparts in smaller and more affluent schools.
Parents outraged school time spent watching Disney movies
The first two days of school this year for her Brooklyn fifth grader included 40 minutes of watching a Disney or Pixar movie, Vivian Lee said at a recent public meeting.
“The teachers are loving, engaged, and very skilled,” Lee told the members of the Panel for Educational Policy, a board that sets policy for the nation’s largest school system. “But since she entered the school two years ago, I’ve become very concerned about the increasing frequency with which she has come home describing the Disney or Pixar movie that she watched during indoor recess or lunch.”
Lee went on to list some of the movies her daughter’s school has played during the school day: “Ralph Wrecks the Internet,” “The Lion King, “Luca,” “Kung Fu Panda 4” and “The Super Mario Bros. Movie.”
“Parents should at least be asked if this is okay with them,” Lee said, adding that parents emailed their school suggestions for other options, like puzzles or indoor sports, but were told there wasn’t enough staffing or time to set up and clean up.
Her concerns echoed those of Miranda, who complained to her son’s school about the movie-watching during the state tests in April. Miranda had suggested to teachers taking walks around the neighborhood to get some movement during the day, and things were “slightly” better a few weeks later during the state math tests, she said. While kids were still not allowed to go outside for recess, most teachers did some neighborhood walks, and the school seemed to let students out into the yard toward the end of the day, she said.
But that change took effort from parents to apply some pressure. Miranda had started a petition for families at P.S. 139 over their concerns about lack of outdoor recess during state testing, garnering more than 50 responses. (She dropped the petition after speaking out at a local Community Education Committee meeting where the superintendent told her that testing was always going to be prioritized over recess in District 22, Miranda said.)
P.S. 139’s principal did not immediately respond for comment.
Parents left in dark about how much time kids spend outside
Harlem mom, educator, and fitness instructor Elisa Capers is also hoping to shine a light on the issue. She launched a petition last year calling for lunch and recess to be extended beyond the average of 20 minutes, garnering more than 450 signatures. As kids are increasingly reliant on cellphones and other devices, Capers is concerned that kids are not getting enough exercise, and she’s worried about the rising numbers of children who are obese.
Capers works as a consultant in schools — including charters and parochial schools — across the five boroughs and has seen kids getting as little as 10 minutes, if at all. Parents and teachers have been telling her that schools often throw on YouTube videos when kids can’t go out for recess, and she’s also heard of recess being taken away from kids because of behavior.
Many parents, she said, don’t realize how little time their children spend playing outside.
“Recess is necessary,” Capers said. “Especially because kids are in front of screens so much, they need time outside … It works hand-in-hand with children wanting to be in school.”
Miranda couldn’t be happier that she switched her son, who is doing another year of kindergarten — something her previous school would not permit — to a school that elevates time spent outdoors.
The philosophy at P.S. 456 is there’s no bad weather, just bad clothing choices.
Amy Zimmer is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat New York. Contact Amy at azimmer@chalkbeat.org.