Lawmakers to discuss school recess

By Emily Richmond

Thursday, March 18, 2004 | 11:06 a.m.

Lawmakers have asked Clark County School District officials to appear before a legislative committee studying the effects of obesity and explain why morning recess was eliminated for elementary school students.

"A single break at lunch isn't enough," said state Sen. Valerie Wiener, D-Las Vegas, chairwoman of the Legislative Committee on Health Care's Subcommittee to Study Societal Costs and Impacts of Obesity. "(The district) is going to get a more productive child if they give them the opportunity to expel some of that excess energy."

Wiener said she first learned of the situation when she was contacted by a television news reporter seeking comment on a March 9 Las Vegas Sun story that detailed a crackdown on unofficial recesses at Reed Elementary School.

As a representative from the district was already scheduled to appear before the committee to talk about nutrition issues, Wiener said she asked that the recess topic be added to the agenda for Monday's 9:30 a.m. meeting at the Sawyer State Office Building.

As reported by the Sun, Clark County School District officials eliminated recess as a scheduled period at elementary schools several years ago to give teachers more instructional time. But the informal practice persisted at many schools, with principals allowing teachers to incorporate a morning break for students.

School administrators are now being reminded that the informal practice conflicts with the district's regulations and must stop.

With the federal No Child Left Behind Act putting schools under increasing pressure to achieve, district officials have been struggling to wring as much instructional time as possible from the allotted school day.

District regulations call for a six-hour, 11-minute elementary school day. That includes 55 minutes total for lunch, recess and time between classes.

The problem, deputy superintendent Agustin Orci said, is that the 10-minute recess too easily turned into 20 or even 30 minutes when round-trip travel from the classroom to the playground was factored into the equation. It also took time to calm the students down after they returned to class, Orci said.

The more sensible use of instructional time is to have a longer break at the noon hour, giving students time to eat lunch and play outside, Orci said. Elementary school students also have two 50-minute physical education classes each week and many children use the playground equipment before and after school, Orci said.

Students are also not glued to their seats for three hours at a time, Orci said. Teachers are encouraged to use instructional techniques that require students to move around within the room. There are also regular trips to the school's library and music room, Orci said.

Clark County is far from the only district struggling with the recess question. The American Association for the Child's Right to Play, an nonprofit advocacy group, estimates that 40 percent of the nation's elementary schools have eliminated the traditional recess period.

In the Washoe County School District about a quarter of the elementary schools have eliminated recess for grades four through six, said spokesman Steve Mulvenon.

"The goal was to create more instructional time," Mulvenon said. "You have to do what you can with the number of minutes available."

When Judye Conner took over as principal of Doris Reed Elementary School in northwest Las Vegas in January, she immediately moved to bring the campus in line with district policy -- to the consternation of some parents and teachers who liked having the option of a mid-morning recess.

To ease the transition Conner said she added additional playground equipment to encourage children to be as active as possible at the available opportunities.

"I see them out there running around, playing hard," Conner said.

State Sen. Barbara Cegavske, R-Las Vegas, said she understands the district was struggling to make the most of its instructional minutes but some kind of morning recess should be included in every school's schedule.

"If it takes too long to get them back and forth to the playground have them do jumping jacks at their desks, skip in place, stretch -- anything that gets them moving for just a few minutes," Cegavske said. "We all work better with that kind of a break."

Carolyn Reedom, assistant superintendent of the district's southeast region, said when she was principal at Vanderburg Elementary School from 1997 to 2001 she allowed her teachers to take a morning recess.

"They went to the water fountain, the restroom and the playground and were back in class within 10 minutes," Reedom said. "I don't think anyone has a problem with children taking a short break -- the issue is when that time limit was abused. We can't afford to infringe on instructional time."

Recess can be beneficial for teachers as well as students, said Bob McCord, assistant professor at the College of Education at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

"As a classroom teacher sometimes you have to remember to pause once in a while, just take a deep breath," said McCord, who spent 30 years in Clark County schools.

At the same time, McCord said, the district is under pressure from all sides to improve student achievement.

"They have to compress a great deal of material into a school day that isn't getting any longer," McCord said.