WHO LOVES RECESS?
Governor decrees ‘Recess Day in Rhode Island’ at local school visit
And now for some very serious talk about play: It’s not just for fun anymore. Try telling that to 175 fourth- and fifth-graders. It seems like yeoman’s work, but that’s what happened at Leo A. Savoie Elementary School Wednesday as Gov. Gina Raimondo proclaimed it “Recess Day in Rhode Island.”
The celebratory event was an opportunity to call attention to a 2016 measure Raimondo championed that called for at least 20 minutes of recess a day in public elementary schools – a law that led to an initiative dubbed Recess Rocks in Rhode Island. A joint venture of Blue Cross/ Blue Shield of Rhode Island, the Healthy Schools Coalition and Playworks New England, Recess Rocks has so far provided educators in 55 public schools with a map for reinventing recess as a safe, inclusive experience that gives kids what it’s supposed to – exercise, a break from brainwork and an arena for developing social skills.
“This is a fantastic platform and one I can wholeheartedly endorse,” said Kim Keck, president and CEO of BC/ BSRI. “We have a vision at Blue Cross to passionately lead a state of health and well-being across Rhode Island. We think starting with the health and well-being of our youngest citizens is really smart. It sounds simple. We know it is not.”
Keck was among a half-dozen speakers who addressed the crowd of youngsters, sitting cross-legged on the floor of the cafeteria at Leo Savoie on Wednesday. In addition to Keck and the governor, they included Playworks Director John Gay, Schools Supt. Patrick McGee, Asst. Supt. Jenny Chan-Remka and Savoie Principal Donna Coderre. A small army of dignitaries was also among the spectators, including Mayor Lisa Baldelli-Hunt, state Rep. Robert Phillips, State Sen. Roger Picard, Councilwoman Melissa Murray, School Committee Chairman Soren Seale and Vice Chairman Paul Bourget.
A mother of two, Raimondo expertly laid out the complex case for play in simple terms to the group of nine- and 10-year-olds, telling a story r about her own son, Tommy, who isn’t much older.
“A lot of times,” she began, when she’s helping with homework or some other project, “You just get stuck. Mayf be you get bored or you just get stale.”
“My grandfather used to say, ‘You just need a change of scenery....’” the governor said. “Sometimes you just need to go to a different room, get a breath of fresh air, move around. Get your body moving. That’s what we do at home. We get stuck or stale, we play ‘tag.’”
After a break for play, Raimondo said, “Then you go back and do a better job with your schoolwork.”
“By the way,” Raimondo added, “Grownups need that, too.”
Judging from the enthusiastic applause from her youthful audience, they liked the story.
Recess Rocks got a resounding endorsement from Savoie Principal Coderre, who says there’s been a dramatic improvement in participation among students since educators rethought recess.
For teachers and principals, Coderre said “unstructured re- cess” used to be the the most dreaded part of the school day. Like adults, she said, kids are competitive and most of what they learn about play comes from their experience with siblings and small groups.
“More problems would arise at recess than any other part of the day,” Coderre said. “Many students didn’t participate and the more athletic students dominated at play.”
Under the guidance of a group of teachers trained by Recess Rocks, Coderre said recess at Savoie looks “different and inclusive.”
Now students have options of choosing from several different games they can play. Even a simple game of tag has become less intimidating with some loose guidelines about which parts of the body are permissible to tag – shoulders and upper arms, for example.
“Now, we see everyone who wants to participate, participate and with our current program, the games are designed so that conflict resolution is built into the games,” Coderre said. “So, when we teach a new tag game, we anticipate that some kids will push or tag too hard so we can teach them how to tag.”
Time devoted to play has doubled at Savoie since Raimondo signed the mandatory recess bill into law; the school used to devote just 10 minutes a day to play.
The reinvention of recess got an enthusiastic thumbs up from fifth-grader Ashlynn Brazenor.
Recess Rocks is “a neat program,” she told spectators. “Recess Rocks has really changed our school because before kids had to make up their own games and some kids didn’t even play at all but now there are all different games to play and all the kids can be included and actually play something.”
Under the program, BC/ BSRI is the philanthropic partner, providing funds that allows Playworks, a Massachusetts-based nonprofit, to offer play-oriented training to educators. Founded in 1996, the organization is active in at least a half-dozen school districts in three states.
Playworks Director Gay says recess is far more than just play. It’s a time when children develop relationships and important social skills, such as conflict resolution and leadership.
“It helps you develop these core skills that you need as adults, but also as kids,” he said. “Recess is a time to play and develop those core skills.”
According to research that was published in a 2009 edition of the journal “Pediatrics,” a daily break of 15 minutes or more in the school day may play a role in improving learning. The study suggests that children who receive more recess are likely to learn more than those who don’t, because they experiment with creativ- ity and imagination and learn how to interact with peers socially, according to Recess Rocks.
BC/BSRI CEO Keck also says that recess promotes physical and mental health – more important than ever for children.
“About a third of Rhode Island children are either obese or overweight and we know obesity brings many challenges in life on physical health... diseases called diabetes, asthma and certainly high blood pressure,” said Keck. “These are things we typically think are for grownups, adults. Yet alarmingly these conditions are showing up at the pediatrician’s office.”
To celebrate its 80th anniversary, Keck said BC/BCRI is shooting to expand training to 80 schools in Rhode Island by the end of next year.