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The 4 R's: Schools may add recess

Children across Miami-Dade would have far more exercise and playtime this year under a plan that would require recess in all the district's elementary schools.

From prekindergarten through fifth grade, schools would provide 15 to 20 minutes of recess at least three times a week -- outdoors whenever weather permits. Principals and teachers would figure out how to shave that time from a schedule packed tight with academics, but a spokesman for Superintendent Rudy Crew said recess is a worthy investment.

''Essentially we're banking on healthier, happier kids being better learners,'' said spokesman Joseph Garcia. ``The research tells us that's a fairly safe bet.''

Though still common for the youngest children, recess is almost extinct in Miami-Dade beyond second grade. It was phased out in the 1980s, and the last decade's focus on high-stakes standardized testing has reinforced its absence.

''The test scores always need to be a consideration, but that's not where we are providing education,'' said Karen Aronowitz, president of the United Teachers of Dade union, which helped develop the recess plan. ``It's the whole child that we address.''

The School Board would need to approve the plan next month, and Crew sent his proposal to board members Thursday evening. He sent them a memo in April supporting a renewed recess program following a Herald story about a grass-roots group of parents who lobbied for its return.

''It's not perfection, but it's wonderful,'' said Clotilde Tamers, the South Miami-Dade mom who helped lead that effort. ``The perfect thing would be every single day.''

Recess is different from physical education -- which is already mandated for 100 to 150 minutes per week -- because it is ''unstructured play time where children have choices, develop rules for play, and release energy and stress,'' according to a Crew administration summary of the plan.

Broward schools hold a 15-minute recess on days without PE, and many South Florida private schools offer it daily in addition to PE. Between the two, Miami-Dade elementary students would have 30 to 60 minutes of exercise almost every day.

Experts have linked daily physical activity to better nutrition, stronger concentration in class and the development of critical social skills.

''As a result of parents working outside the home, safety issues, and other factors, a growing number of children have limited time to participate in unstructured play in their neighborhoods,'' Crew's proposal said. ``They spend more time watching TV, playing computer games, and/or participating in other sedentary activities.''

Recess provides outdoor free time that is supervised by adults but not managed by them, forcing children to learn to make their own rules, play fair and resolve conflicts.

A few states, including Michigan and Virginia, have mandatory recess policies, but campaigns in other states, including Georgia, have failed. Florida allows each district to set its own rules and does not track which counties require it.

If the board approves Crew's plan at its Aug. 17 meeting, recess would begin the following day -- less than two weeks into the new school year. It would be truly mandatory, according to the summary: Teachers would not be allowed to hold it out as a reward or cancel it as punishment.

''They're going to discover the unbelieveable possibilities of after-recess,'' Tamer said, pointing to studies of childrens' academic focus right after outdoor playing. ``Kids are going to do better studying and better learning.''

Miami-Dade is home to more than 200 public elementary schools, and some of them have little green space on their campuses. Some may have to share space with PE classes and other outdoor activities. ''Some of them are going to have to be creative about it,'' Garcia said.

They will also have to retool daily schedules, which many said could be a problem. In an internal district survey of 205 principals and 1,683 teachers, more than 25 percent said time or scheduling problems would impede recess. Just over 18 percent said there would be no problems.

Crew's plan also acknowledged issues with the UTD contract. Students must be supervised at all times by a certified teacher, but without extending the teacher's hours or cutting into the teacher's planning time or 30-minute lunch.

''A teacher's day is really not her own,'' Aronowitz said. ``They'll be able to work within the contract.''

— Matthew I. Pinzur
Miami Herald
2005-07-29
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/local/12250507.htm

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