HELP with Recess!

I feel twenty minutes of recess at Baldwin is crucial for kids. My son says regardless of the weather they have stay on the blacktop. They cannot even eat ouside on nice days, something he also used to do at the elementary schools. He has never used the baseball fields or the tennis courts, so I have to ask why do they have them? I can't believe we need another subcommittee to look into this since I was supposedly on the first one with Michelle. I am in hopes that parents stand together to change recess at Baldwin, even though it may not apply to my son since he only has one more year I beleive it is important.

Background on the Recess Issue:

I thought it would be helpful to give everyone a little background on recess for as long as I have been involved.

In 2007, when my son entered Baldwin and I found out about the limited recess - I started to get interested. The first half of that school year, the routine for recess went like this: If you had gym on a particular day......you were NOT allowed to go outside after lunch at all. (I think they figured that gym would be sufficient physical activity for the day) If you didn't have gym that particular day...you could go outside after lunch, amounting to 10 or less minutes.

A group of concerned parents brought the issue up at a BOE meeting where a small sub-committee was formed with two BOE members, (Alan Meyers and Barbara Dudley) and some parents. Our little sub-committee met a couple of times and decided to observe the situation at recess. After observing, Dr. Meyers spoke with Anne Snurkowski about the possibility of offering recess to every kid, every day, whether they had gym or not. Mrs. Snukowski agreed - that was our first success.

After that....though there was always some correspondence or discussion on the issue, nothing else happened.

Once my son hit sixth grade (2008/09), I started to get on the band wagon again - but then it was winter and the kids didn't particularly want to go outside anyway. At a winter BOE meeting it was decided that the recess issue would next be transferred to the 'Health Advisory Committee' to research. Two BOE members, Alan Meyers and Linda Sanacora were on the HAC committee and I attended a couple of the meetings. Dr. Meyers and I decided to observe the lunch waves at Baldwin again to see exactly how much time the students have for recess. We observed two lunch waves. The first thing I noticed was that the students didn't even get down to the cafeteria for quite a while (due to stopping at lockers to pick up lunch and coats I believe). Once they got to the caf. it took a while for those buying lunch to get through the lunch line. The students had about 10 - 12 minutes to eat lunch and then were called to line up to go outside. We observed that perhaps 70% of the students chose to go outside. Once outside, they had to play on the blacktop since it was muddy, but on dry days they are allowed to play in the grass. Balls and soccer nets were brought out. During the second lunch wave only about 40% of the students went out after lunch, when I asked the remaining students why they didn't go out they mostly said that they didn't like to rush through their lunch, by the time they got outside, they had to turn around and come back in, or there wasn't much to do outside.

At the next Health Advisory Committee meeting Dr. Meyers and I discussed what we had seen and Nancy Bishop offered to speak with Anne Snurkowski about how to possibly get the students into the cafeteria quicker and through the lunch line quicker. Here is where I asked why the HAC couldn't simply recommend to the BOE that Baldwin students receive 20 minutes of recess per day. I was told that that is not how it is done. If we can't tweak the system to make it work.....we would have to make an official change in the "policy" which would require someone to re-write the policy and then for it to be reviewed by the "policy committee". They said this could take quite a while.

I missed the last HAC meeting where the minutes stated:

"During the discussion about recess, it was decided that Jane Capellini will coordinate a Recess Sub-committee of staff members, parents, and students. She will obtain the recess curriculum from Michael Biddle. The Physical Education Teachers, in particular Betsy Christensen and Art Fonicello, and the members of the sub-committee will make revisions as needed. Some of the recess issues that will be discussed will be the time allotted for recess, refining the use of cafeteria cards to increase recess time, and recess resources."

This is where I have lost my patience. This will be the third "committee" in over two years and I just feel like this is taking way too long and that this type of approach could go on forever.

Lastly, the State Legislation states this: (see #2)

Sec. 10-221o. Lunch periods. Recess. Each local and regional board of education shall require each school under its jurisdiction to (1) offer all full day students a daily lunch period of not less than twenty minutes, and (2) include in the regular school day for each student enrolled in grades kindergarten to five, inclusive, a period of physical exercise."

The legislation is a big vague - how long is " a period of physical exercise"? If you consider gym part of their 'physical exercise' they may fit within the standard, but on days they don't have gym....... and students don't go outside, or it is raining out.....they are not getting their required time. And it is unfortunate to me that our sixth graders (11 and 12 year olds) are not required to have anything.

Thanks,
Michelle