Recess: time well spent or time for restructure?

A version of this story ran in The Times of Snohomish County on Wednesday.

Recess, the source of rejoicing among generations of schoolchildren, may need legislative protection from school administrators trying to find more time for academics.

The traditional three playground breaks a day — morning, lunchtime and afternoon — have been reduced to two at many schools in the county, and some districts around the state have considered eliminating them altogether.

State Rep. John McCoy, D-Tulalip, is reintroducing a bill he sponsored last year, House Bill 1188, to require K-12 schools to provide at least 30 minutes of physical activity during the school day, either from recess or physical education.

The bill passed out of the House Education Committee in 2007 but was never called to the floor for a vote.

"People begged me to reintroduce the bill," he said, noting that he was spurred to action last year when he heard, on the same radio news report, that recess was going away and that childhood obesity was on the rise.

Many educators and public-health advocates say that physical activity is important to children's well-being and that recess also provides important unstructured time during the school day.

But some state education groups oppose McCoy's legislation, arguing that scheduling should be left up to local schools.

"The logistics get complicated fast. You have to think about scheduling, staffing, space. At bigger elementaries, you might have 700 kids and one gym," said Jocelyn McCabe, director of communications for the Association of Washington School Principals.

A competing measure, Senate Bill 6042, requires only that elementary schools provide a daily recess period.

The national PTA, in partnership with Cartoon Network, has launched an effort to get state boards of education to protect recess. Calling recess "the fourth R," the PTA said that 40 percent of elementary schools in the country have either eliminated or are considering eliminating recess. The group blamed school budget cuts and the increased focus on academic standards.

The state PTA is backing the Senate version of the bill that requires a daily recess but doesn't specify the amount of time.

"We feel strongly that some unstructured play is necessary developmentally for kids," said Kim Howard, community-relations director for the Washington PTA. "Recess breaks also stimulate learning and help students function better in the classroom."

Public-health experts say the loss of recess is just one factor in the nationwide epidemic of childhood obesity.

Children spend more time on computers and in front of the TV and less time physically playing. Fewer walk or bike to school, and many have diets heavy on fast food and low on nutrition, said Dr. Gary Goldbaum, Snohomish County health officer.

"By the time they reach middle school and high school, they already have habits where they're not getting enough physical activity," he said.

Principals and teachers say they've seen a reduction in the number of daily recesses that corresponds to the increasing pressure to meet standards on the Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL).

At least two Seattle schools, Brighton Elementary and Madrona K-8, have only one recess per day. Both have high numbers of poor and minority students, and both have been on the federal watch list for failing schools.

"Our kids come to us far behind. We have to build them up academically," said Beverly Raines, Brighton principal, who said her students do get an extra 10-minute recess every Friday. She said one teacher has complained about the lack of play time, but no parents or students have complained.

The Tacoma School District in 2004 began eliminating some recesses and threatened to remove them entirely to prepare for WASL exams.

"If we want students learning to high standards, we need them in the classroom, not the playground," Karyn Clarke, then the assistant superintendent for Tacoma elementary schools, told The Associated Press in 2004.

An outcry from parents caused the district to abandon the idea.

"When I started, there was a morning, a lunch and an afternoon recess. Now we have two," said Steve Burleigh, principal at Hillcrest Elementary in Lake Stevens.

While research shows that physical activity boosts kids' concentration, Burleigh said it also shows that instruction is most effective in uninterrupted blocks of time of about 1-½ to 2 hours.

Dave Wood, Washington Education Association representative in the Edmonds School District, said many schools have eliminated either morning or afternoon recess, but he isn't aware of any that have eliminated recess entirely. But he said he hears constantly from teachers about the pressure to increase instruction time so their students will meet academic standards.

"There isn't enough time in the day to get everything done," he said.

Former Lynnwood Elementary Principal David Koyama said he might not mandate recess, but he said it is an important part of the school day.

"One of the jobs of schools is to socialize children. Recess is all about unstructured play. Kids used to play on the sidewalks and even take over the streets. Now they go home, and they don't come back out," he said.

Many educators also say recess provides an important outlet for children's' energy. Lynda Tripp, principal of Spruce Elementary in Lynnwood, said, "Students need to get their wiggles out. If they don't get them out at recess, they'll get them out during math."

Lynn Thompson: 425-745-7807 or lthompson@seattletimes.com