Hello all,
As you all know this past year we passed two resolutions about recess. One was mandating it, and the other was having up to 30 minutes of recess count towards instructional mandated minutes. Soon after these resolutions passed I Co-founded a chapter of Say Yes to Recess in NY alongside Dr. Lori Koerner who is a retired teacher, admin and assistant superintendent. The organization Say Yes to Recess is a National organization that is advocating for 60 minutes of daily unstructured play in elementary school and for it to count towards instructional mandated minutes. This can be broken up 30 minutes in the am and 30 in the pm, or however a school wants to offer this. Our NY chapter has been working closly with legislators, NYSUT and recess advocacy groups in NY to come up with language that best suits our children. I've also been in contact with Brian Fessler to keep him posted as to what we are advocating for. As much as we would love to see 60 minutes and that is where the research is coming from ( The Liink Project) we have decided on a minimum of 40 minutes of daily recess to be counted as instructional minutes. This cannot be taken away as a punishment and does not count as phys-ed. We believe now more than ever our children need to experience all the learning that takes place during unstructured play. We also believe this will benefit our children as they grow and learn the new requirements for the Portrait of a Graduate. If there are any board members here who want to lock arms with Say Yes to Recess NY, please let me know. I'd love to see what you all are thinking and hoping once this becomes a solid bill, we will have the support of NYSSBA and it's members.
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