Group studying Adams 14 recess recommends 20 minutes, training, and new equipment

Adams 14 must prioritize making time for at least 20 minutes of recess, and also should invest in more play equipment and train its staff in developing policies for the unstructured time, a committee has reported.

A group of parents, teachers, and staff convened to research the issue of student play time, urged the school board to provide more play time for children. The advisory group was named after an uproar earlier this year when the district reduced recess times to add more instructional time.

“One of the questions that was asked several times was, ‘Where is the time going to come from?’” said committee member and grandmother, Connie Bonnell. “Well, the time has always been there. Recess has always been a part of school.”

The team was made up of three parents, a grandparent, two teachers, and an administrative assistant. They met weekly in April to talk about the issue and to craft the recommendations.

The group told the school board at a meeting Tuesday that they felt recess was important enough to schedule daily, so that students can expend energy and return to class ready to learn. The committee said the district could still benefit by learning from experts on the topic and asked the district to seek a partner to plan recess and train staff.

The group added that their discussions often focused on safety concerns.

“If you have 500 kids on a playground that’s only equipped for 200, you have a problem,” Bonnell said.

In complaining about the cuts to recess, teachers had reported that classroom behavior problems increased after kids were denied free time to play. Parents also complained that recess for students with disabilities was often even shorter because they sometimes take more time getting through a lunch line.

School board members asked the committee a handful of clarifying questions, including whether the group had looked into whether a 20-minute block was better than splitting the time into two segments.

Committee members said they did like the idea of scheduling two 10-minute breaks, but still wrote the recommendation simply asking the district to provide “at least 20 minutes of recess (non-academic physical activity) during the school hours.”

Superintendent Javier Abrego released a statement applauding the recommendations work and said they would “be the foundation for constructive changes benefitting our children and staff.”

“I am pleased to share that through the advisory committees efforts, the curriculum and instruction team has reviewed the elementary school instructional day and have developed options for how to incorporate recess/physical activity time without compromising instructional time, which we plan to implement for the 2018-19 school year,” he said in the statement.

The group’s last recommendation was to have the District Wellness Committee evaluate how recess might relate to social-emotional learning policies and then monitor the district’s progress on the recommendations. Abrego’s statement said he would ask the wellness committee to “review and operationalize” the recommendations.