Petition for Daily Recess in Pittsgrove Township Elementary Schools


We, the undersigned parents or legal guardians of Pittsgrove Township Elementary School students and Pittsgrove Township community members at large, believe that daily recess has a positive impact on learning and will benefit the physical, social, and emotional development of our children as well.

Upon entering Olivet Elementary School, students no longer have the freedom for unstructured play during their recess time. Instead, they are placed into "directed play" requiring students in 3rd and 5th gradesto choose an organizedactivity and stick with throughout the length of their recess and requiring students in 4th grade to participate in a designated organized activity with theircurrent classmates only.

We support this petition for the following reasons:


1. While many schools have replaced recess with more instruction time over the last decade in order to improve students’ academic performance, there is no research that suggests this approach is effective. In fact, all available research indicates that increasing instruction time without providing appropriate breaks will have either no impact or a negative impact on learning. According to a review of research articles conducted by the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, all studies found “one or more positive associations between recess and indicators of cognitive skills, attitudes, and academic behavior; none of the studies found negative associations.”

2. Breaks from concentration are crucial to learning. The brain needs down time in order to be able to process more information. All people, especially young children, need breaks in order to be productive. Changing activities or subjects does not provide the required break.

3. Children are better behaved and more focused after recess. Recent studies have shown that children are more focused, on-task and better behaved after recess. Recess is especially helpful to children with attention deficit disorder.

4. Recess is important for social development. During recess children create their own games, learn how to resolve conflicts with one another, practice negotiating skills, and bond with their friends. Fewer and fewer children have the opportunity to do this outside of school.

5. Recess promotes physical activity, which is closely linked to cognitive development and function. Recess also affords a child the opportunity to practice skills such as cooperation, communication, and creativity, and a break from the day's routine improves attention, focus, behavior, and learning in the classroom.

6. The health of our children is at risk. With 1 in every 3 children in North Carolina being either overweight or obese according to the NC State Center for Health Statistics, we need to take every opportunity to improve the health of our children. Research shows that children who have more opportunities for physical activity in school are more likely to be active outside of school as well. Daily recess is one of the most efficient ways to increase the daily activity level and physical health of our children.

7. Recess motivates children to go to school. Recess is the only time that children can socialize and play freely together. Having recess to look forward to as part of every school day has a positive effect on many children’s attitude toward school.

8. Unstructured physical play reduces stress. The National Association for the Education of Young Children recommends unstructured physical play as a developmentally appropriate means of reducing stress in children’s lives. Studies show that stress has a negative impact on learning as well as on health. Recess is a break from the structure and expectations of the classroom and gives children the opportunity to choose their activities.

9. Physical education (P.E.) and recess are both important, but neither one is a substitute for the other.Recess, by definition, is a break from instruction, and the many benefits that accrue from it are directly related to it being unstructured time.

10. Daily, unstructured recess is supported by several national organizations, including the following:
National Association for the Education of Young Children
American School Health Association
National Association of Early Childhood Specialists in State Departments of Education
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
National Association for Sport and Physical Education


We understand that the goal of Pittsgrove Township School Administrators is to provide the best possible education for our children. We appreciate their efforts and recognize the complexities of the public education system. However, we feel that eliminating recessin favor of directed playwill not improve the education of our children and is ultimately counterproductive to the goal of developing our children into well-rounded, healthy, creative and productive citizens. Well-timed recess is much more likely to have a positive impact on learning and will benefit our children in important other ways.

We, the undersigned, petition thePittsgrove TownshipBoard of Education to establish a policy to ensure a minimum of one daily scheduled recess period for all students inPittsgrove TownshipElementary Schools (K-5). Recess should be a period of supervised, unstructured play time held outside whenever possible and provided at a time that serves as a break in the students’ instructional day.