PWCS Plans to Increase Recess Time for 2018-19

The change is possible thanks to recent legislation allowing school divisions to count recess as part of the instructional day.

Revised PWCS regulations will now require elementary students to get 20 minutes of recess, either just before or after lunch. Schools will be free to decide when to schedule the additional 10 minutes.

It should come as no surprise that time spent outside and engaged in physical activity provides benefits to children’s (and everyone’s) health and mental well-being, and may even improve behavior, learning and concentration.

However, until recently, strict rules about instructional hours meant that Virginia public schools had to forgo recess time to focus on core subjects and still find in time for art, music, etc.

Prince William County Schools is the first in the Commonwealth to avail itself of the state-wide policy change and adopt it into its own scheduling.

“We’ve long understood the benefits of exercise and unstructured activity for student learning, health and wellbeing,” said Superintendent Steve Walts. “This new law means we’re free to build those benefits into the daily instructional time that Virginia requires.”

Perhaps PWCS was eager to be the first to adopt those changes in its Legislative Priorities, which takes effect on July 1, 2018, since the changes were proposed by a Prince William activist and PWCS mom.

Barbara Larrimore of Lake Ridge has been the state's strongest advocated for more recess time for elementary children.

Larrimore's concern originated when she noticed her 5-year-old was biting holes into his shirts while at school. Larrimore went on to learn he received only 15-minutes of recess time during the school day.

She first brought the issue to the Prince William County School Board. She soon learned the school division was limited by state regulations, she did not give up. Instead, she worked with Virginia State legislators to craft two bills to address those issues.

Larrimore co-founded the “More Recess for Virginians Coalition," catching the attention of bill sponsors: Barbara Favola D-Northern Virginia; Sen. Chap Petersen, D-Fairfax; and Del. Karrie Delaney, D-Fairfax.

“We’ve been working hand-in-hand with them from the beginning,” said Larrimore. “We wanted it done a very specific way so that it wouldn’t affect the school schedule like art, music and PE because those are important and also part of a healthy diet of education for kids.” HB 1419, written by Karrie Delaney (D-Centreville), passed the House and Senate. Larrimore said it was the more inclusive of the two proposed bills. “It has everything we wanted,” she said. HB 1419 changed state policy so that starting next school year, recess time can be counted as instructional hours in Virginia public schools, allowing students more time to spend in recess or participating in physical activities. Recently, HB 1419 was signed into law by the Gov. Ralph Northam (D), who is also a physician.

“I’m thrilled that PWCS is the first in the state to utilize recess as instruction minutes. It’s this kind of foresight that will make us leaders in education again," Larrimore told Bristow Beat, Monday. “I look forward to next year around this time when PWCS will hopefully announce greater flexibility. HB 1419 addresses where to find the time without affecting music, art and PE."

To get her bill to pass, Larrimore worked with Democrats and Republicans, attracting 25 co-patrons. Capital News Service reported that Virginia is one of only eight states that require elementary schools to provide daily recess, according to the 2016 Shape of the Nation Report. Virginia mandates that elementary school students participate in at least 100 minutes of physical activity every week or 20 minutes every day. Most of that time had been covered in structured physical education classes. However, starting July 1, there is much more flexibility in how those hours are applied. Larrimore hopes schools will get creative and make outdoor activity a priority.

“Even though ten minutes of recess can be used indoor, my sincere hope is that principals and teachers will make every effort to let the kids go outside," Larrimore said.