http://www.timesunion.com/7dayarchive/article/Menands-holds-public-forum-on-10-minute-recess-12424773.php
Menands School reconsiders 10 minute school recess
Public forum raises issue, Superintendent Long responds
Published 1:38 pm, Tuesday, December 12, 2017
COLONIE — The Menands School Board of Education held a public forum at its Monday night meeting to hear parents’ concerns about the school’s decreased recess time.
At the beginning of the 2017-2018 school year, the Menands School District decreased the students’ recess period from 20 minutes to 10 minutes. When parents found out about the change, many became so concerned that they started circulating petitions — one of which has garnered nearly 300 signatures—and a Facebook page to win the 10 minutes back. After last night’s hearing, some parents have hope that their efforts are leading to success.
Johanna Clark, a Menands resident and mother of three, said the “school board did an informal tally” where three members decided recess time should increase again, and two “said they wanted to defer the decision to the administration.”
“The Superintendent felt neutral when she was talking and said, ‘Based on feedback I guess this is what we have to do,’ ” Clark said. “Overall I’m pretty positive that things will improve. We can rewrite the ending to this story.”
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In an email sent to parents Tuesday morning, Menands Superintendent Maureen Long said she “will embark on the process considering how restorations to recess time could be achieved.”
“There are various factors involved in doing so, including, but not limited to, staffing implications and compliance with contractual obligations,” Long wrote.
Some parents see the decline of recess as a symptom of the growing pressure to raise test scores at any cost, and lament the loss of unstructured free time that researchers say is critical to children's social and emotional development. It's during recess that young children learn to socialize, solve problems, handle conflict and let off steam.
And its after-effects make a pretty convincing academic case, as well. Teachers whose students get substantial recess say their class comes back better focused and less fidgety, with fewer behavioral problems and more engagement with the lesson at hand. Science supports such observations. Regular "brain breaks" have been shown to increase cognition, retention and learning.
Clark said she’s hoping this discussion will lead to “a broader conversation about recess.”
“Twenty minutes is not that long,” Clark said. “I’d like to see 30 or even 40 minutes. There’s evidence that supports more, and the physical and mental well-being of our kids should be equally as important as the academics.”
