Elementary Recess Review

A committee of parents, teachers and school-based administrators provided a recommendation for the school division to extend recess time at the elementary level in response to a new Virginia law.

The new legislation, passed by the General Assembly in March and signed by Governor Ralph Northam in April, enables school districts to include “unstructured recreational time that is intended to develop teamwork, social skills, and overall physical fitness in any calculation of total instructional time or teaching hours.”

Committee Recommendation

The committee’s recommendation to the chief academic officer is for all elementary schools to provide a minimum of 30 minutes of daily recess. As staffing and resources allow, schools are encouraged to provide additional opportunities beyond the 30-minute minimum for unstructured activities and/or enrichment, to include but not limited to, additional recess time, makerspace/STEM activities, social play centers, etc.

The committee also felt it was important that the school division continue to explore opportunities for movement in the classroom; and that in the future schools should work, to the extent possible, at scheduling recess during optimal times within the school day.

Committee Work & Decision-Making Process

The committee met four times over a two month period to develop this recommendation. During those meetings, they learned about the new law, the benefits of recess, and the structure of an elementary school day. They also reviewed information gathered from a parent and teacher survey designed to provide feedback in regards to implementing changes to recess.

The recommendation was developed through an analytical process known as Decision Analysis, which was developed by TregoEd. The purpose of this step-by-step process is to help a group arrive at the best, balanced choice based on criteria agreed upon by the group.

Two criteria were identified as mandatory by the committee, meaning that if an alternative did not meet this criterion it was excluded. Mandatory criteria included:

Option is in congruence with national guidelines for recess (at least 20 minutes) for all students and increases recess for all students; and
Ability to provide required services for students with disabilities, gifted students, reading intervention, and English Learners.

The criteria weighted with the most value by the committee included:

Ability for students to participate in enrichment opportunities within the school day (STEM, Makerspace, enrichment block, additional resource, computer lab time, and unstructured play centers;
Minimizes likelihood that math/literacy blocks are split/broken, measured against YCSD models (math, literacy);
Parent support for recess option (survey); and
Teacher support for recess option (survey).

Additional criteria considered by the committee included:

Minimizes disruptions to school time/transitions;
Ability to schedule optimal playground time to avoid early or late slots and overcrowding; and
Minimizes exposure to the sun.

The committee immediately ruled out no change as an option based on the mandatory criteria established and began evaluating the other alternatives: 30-minute minimum recess, two 20-minute recesses, or one 40-minute recess. Based on the identified criteria, and the systematic Decision Analysis steps, the group arrived at a consensus and developed the recommendation statement.

Implementation Timeline

A superintendent’s regulation (JHC) has been developed to provide principals with guidance and expectations for implementing the new minimum standards. It is expected that all elementary schools will implement the new standards as soon as a possible, but no later than the end of second quarter.

Previous Updates »

The York County School Division is in the process of reviewing options for extending recess time during the elementary school day. The division's current expectation is that grades K-5 provide a minimum of 20 minutes of daily recess. While some YCSD elementary schools exceed that current minimum expectation, a new state law in effect as of July 1, 2018 provides the division with an opportunity to restructure both the amount of time and the schedule for daily recess in grades K-5.

In accordance with the division's Strategic Plan goal to foster effective partnerships with families and our communities, school and division administrators established a plan to work collaboratively with staff and parents through an Elementary Recess Committee.

The committee includes two representatives from each elementary school, one parent and one employee, and was established based on the criteria of providing objective representation of our diverse school community. The committee's purpose is to gather information from parents and teachers and to review options for adjusting recess times in order to provide a recommendation to the division.

The agenda for the first committee meeting included:

the committee's purpose
recess research
YCSD recess work from May-August
legislation overview
YCSD elementary schedule
survey and feedback review
next steps

To ensure parents and teachers have the opportunity to provide feedback on this topic, all elementary parents and teachers will be invited to participate in a brief survey. The survey will be shared directly to each parent's email address before the end of August. The survey will close in early September for the results to be reviewed by the committee at its September meeting.

UPDATE: September 20, 2018

The recess committee has begun reviewing the survey results to develop a recommendation to school division staff. More than 3,300 respondents provided feedback for their review. The survey results, including all open-ended comments, have been compiled into one report which is available in the link below. Additionally, a presentation on the recess committee was provided to the School Board during a special meeting on Monday, September 17. A link to that video is also provided below.

UPDATE: October 9, 2018

The recess committee met again on October 5 to continue the review of parent and teacher survey result and begin the initial stages of a decision analysis to establish criteria for the committee's recommendation to the superintendent. Once the recommendation is received, a superintendent's regulation will be developed to assist schools with implementing the division's expectations no later than the end of the second quarter, if not sooner. The School Board received an update on the committee's work, including the committee's meeting agenda, at the October 8 work session. A link to the video of that meeting and a copy of the presentation are provided below.