As one of the early proponents of Middle School recess, this is why I think it's essential.

1. Right now, my daughter gets to school at 7:15 in the morning and doesn't see the sun until 2:15 in the afternoon. She goes from Algebra to science to English without even a small break. As an adult, I can't go from meeting to meeting to meeting without a small break to clear my head.

2. All these people who say no one should get a break because a small segment of the population might have sex or get into a fight on school grounds are wrong. First of all, fights are going to happen - its better if it happens where adults are around to deal with the consequences. If kids are having sex on school grounds as 13 and 14 year olds, then a lot of failures happened. Recess is not going to change that and let's not punish the vast majority who will use that time constructively.

3. Most importantly, girls are getting their periods at that age. Right now, my daughter has one 30-minute break during those 7 hours. She sometimes has to choose between eating lunch and going to the bathroom. That is not a fair choice.

4. All over this country, kids in middle school are having recess. In California, we had 2 breaks - 20 minutes brunch and a 40-minute lunch. Kids learned how to interact with their peers, used the time to study if they needed to and went outside for fresh air. Middle Schools in FCPS treat the kids like they are one step away from Rikers. It's not healthy for anyone.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Supervised recess would be offered to middle school students every day for 15 minutes and to elementary school students in two separate 15-minute segments “as practicable.”

We currently have a 30 minute recess at the ES level. I hope we can keep that rather than two 15-minute blocks.

They tried this a few years ago at elementary level when 30 minutes became required. Most schools found the transitions for 2 times to be a hassle and went back to a 30 minute block.

As a teacher, I want the 30 minute block and 5-10 minute brain break in the morning outside

+1, this was impractical in ES. As soon as you walked to the playground, a third of recess was already over.

Anonymous wrote:Supervised recess would be offered to middle school students every day for 15 minutes and to elementary school students in two separate 15-minute segments “as practicable.”

We currently have a 30 minute recess at the ES level. I hope we can keep that rather than two 15-minute blocks.

They tried this a few years ago at elementary level when 30 minutes became required. Most schools found the transitions for 2 times to be a hassle and went back to a 30 minute block.

As a teacher, I want the 30 minute block and 5-10 minute brain break in the morning outside

The 90 minute advisory period is way too long for some kids. I think this is a great idea.

DS’s school already has a 15 min break time. He hates it. It’s 15 min of a silent study hall in whatever class you happen to be in. His teacher doesn’t let them use their phones so it only prolongs time in one class.

Outdoor unstructured recess in middle school for 15 min also seems like a really bad idea. Just enough time to plan a fight or meet up for sex.

Actually this is a good idea. My kids attended middle school in DC at Hardy. They always had a recess after lunch. Kids loved it.

My middle schooler wakes up at 5:45 am M-F. He doesn't need more recess, he needs more time to sleep in the mornings.

Anonymous wrote:Sounds like they're going to be making the "mask breaks" permanent. Good news.

Masks are optional so why would they need mask breaks?

Anonymous wrote:This is great but where will they fit it in?

MS recess - https://wtop.com/fairfax-county/2022/03/recess-expected-to-come-to-all-fairfax-co-middle-schools-next-year/

They will take it out of the study hall period, no doubt. This sucks.

Supervised recess would be offered to middle school students every day for 15 minutes and to elementary school students in two separate 15-minute segments “as practicable.”

We currently have a 30 minute recess at the ES level. I hope we can keep that rather than two 15-minute blocks.

Anonymous wrote:Also news 30% of teens are pre-diabetic. Recess sounds like a great idea

So they can get 15 minutes of exercise or eat sugary snacks during recess?

Also news 30% of teens are pre-diabetic. Recess sounds like a great idea

Sounds like they're going to be making the "mask breaks" permanent. Good news.

Great. I remember all of the fights happening during recess during my MS days. This is a terrible idea.

Frost and Cooper MS are already danger zones with all of the construction.

This is great but where will they fit it in?

MS recess - https://wtop.com/fairfax-county/2022/03/recess-expected-to-come-to-all-fairfax-co-middle-schools-next-year/