Students rush out double doors toward playground equipment or to start games on the blacktop, but the whistle follows close behind. The longest recess break for Lawrence students is 15 minutes. Members of the district’s school board would like to see that time increase.

“Recess time is important for kids,” said Vanessa Sanburn, president of the school board. “In addition to being fun, providing lots of opportunities for physical activity can help kids be more receptive learners as well.”

And though Sanburn said she thinks increasing recess time would benefit a lot of the instructional goals the board has, to do so isn’t as simple as just adding five minutes.

Currently, the Kansas State Department of Education policy only allows for two 15-minute recesses for elementary schools, one mid-morning and one mid-afternoon, to count toward the required amount of instructional time, Sanburn explained. As a result, increasing recess time for Lawrence students would likely mean adding time to the school day, she said.

“So you have to think about setting the calendar and paying staff more,” Sanburn said. “Our calendar essentially matches the instructional time (requirements), so we don’t have a lot of wiggle room.”

One of the board’s proposed goals for the school year is to enhance student wellness, an aspect of which is to investigate increases in recess and time for physical movement. There is no district policy outlining recess, said Denise Johnson, the district’s curriculum coordinator for health and wellness. Total time allotted for recess varies by school, but all elementary students get at least 15 minutes of recess, Johnson said. That time is an important component of the school day, and Johnson said she would love to see more.

“To get kids moving and be creative,” she said, “to try to create that balance between academics and physical movement.”

Johnson said the general practice in the district is that students in kindergarten through third grades get two 15-minute recesses per day, and fourth- and fifth-grade students get one. Students in middle school don’t get recess but typically have a break before or after lunch. In addition, Johnson said, it is stressed that teachers shouldn’t take recess away from students, but there is no specific policy prohibiting it.

The Lawrence district isn’t an outlier in the regard. According to a recent survey, 63 percent of Kansas elementary students have 20 minutes or less for recess, and only 41 percent of schools have policies prohibiting recess from being withheld as a punishment. The Kansas State Department of Education collaborated on the report with the Kansas Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance, and the findings were reported to the Kansas State Board of Education in July.

Recess time has been a national topic of concern as a growing body of research highlights its importance to multiple aspects of childhood development. The American Academy of Pediatrics reports that recess is a crucial part of a child’s cognitive, emotional, physical and social development. The AAP provides several recommendations to schools and policymakers regarding recess, including: recess should not be withheld as punishment or for instructional time; breaks from classroom work are needed for both younger children and adolescents; and recess should be scheduled at regular intervals throughout the day. Although it does not suggest a specific recess schedule, it notes that attention spans begin to wane after 40 to 50 minutes of intense instruction.

Johnson has witnessed many of those aspects firsthand. Johnson, who previous to her role as wellness coordinator taught fifth grade in the district, said kids need a break to refocus, and that can include activities like jumping jacks or short, active games to break up or transition between lessons.

“You can have on your schedule that your recess is from 10 to 10:15, but that may not necessarily be the time where kids need the biggest break,” Johnson said, noting that incorporating such activities can reengage students.

As part of the school board’s goal to enhance student wellness, the board will investigate ways to increase both physical movement and exercise, as opposed to strictly focusing on recess, explained Lawrence schools Superintendent Rick Doll.

First, the board will get a baseline amount of how much time kids have for physical movement throughout the day, Doll said. Once the baseline is known, the board will consider research on the impact of physical activity on learning and make recommendations for possible changes, he said.

“It could be a variety of things,” Doll said, noting that it’s not just at the elementary level but middle school as well. “It could be we take more stretch breaks during class time, or it could mean more recess time.”

In the meantime, the district is already implementing some practices to encourage more movement in the classroom, Johnson said. As part of professional development over the summer, physical education teachers in kindergarten through eighth grades did a training program called “Let’s Move! Active Schools,” which taught activities or games that can be done in just a few minutes to get students physically active, Johnson explained.

“Recess has that elementary feel, but physical movement needs to happen in all of our buildings,” Johnson said, adding that the training encouraged PE teachers to share the activities with classroom teachers.

At its meetings in September, the school board will further discuss specific ways to work toward the goal of enhancing student wellness, as well as its five other goals. The next school board meeting will be at 7 p.m. Monday, Sept. 14 at the district’s Educational Support and Distribution Center, 110 McDonald Drive.