Recess allotment questioned

EAST COUNTY — A 15-minute portion of the day East County students in grades K-5 use to socialize or chase friends around the playground has become a tense subject for parents, teachers and the Manatee County School District. It’s one that’s even sparked a lawsuit.

Since parents spotlighted recess four months ago at a Manatee County School Board meeting, Kate Smith, a lawyer and parent of two elementary-aged children, sued the district Oct. 31. Smith said the district violated its recess policy.

Smith’s children attend Virgil Mills Elementary. The school combined recess and lunch into a 30-minute segment three months ago.

“My third-grade daughter says it feels more like she has five minutes for lunch and five minutes for recess,” Smith said at the school board’s Oct. 28 meeting. “I’ve thrown away a lot of food.”

Smith’s comments are among more than 60 voiced at recent board meeting by parents concerned about how long recess lasts.

In December, District Attorney Mitchell Teitelbaum filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit. But the suit is still pending in the Manatee County Clerk of Circuit Court.

The issue is some parents believe their children don’t have long enough recess breaks or aren’t getting recess at all.

Deputy Superintendent of Instruction Diana Green says students aren’t losing time outside and are still getting their state-mandated 150 minutes of physical education per week. There just doesn’t need to be time allotted specifically for recess, she says.

But some East County parents don’t like the way recess time is being handled.

“I don’t agree with it,” said Danielle Downes, mother of two and B.D. Gullett Elementary School Parent-Teacher Organization vice president. “We’re taking away time for our kids to be kids.”

Currently, Tara and Gullett elementary schools allow 15 minutes for recess, while Braden River Elementary School students receive about 30 minutes for recess time. The policies at those three schools have been in place for years.

As students continue preparing for more tests because of the Florida State Standards, they need time to “blow off steam,” Downes said.

She believes recess is a time to be free of directions.

“My daughter is in kindergarten and she can tell you what nouns, verbs and adjectives are, which is great,” Downes said. “But when I was in kindergarten, I was learning how to cut. Students are so structured we’re forgetting they’re kids.”

Contact Amanda Sebastiano at [email protected]