GRAINGER COUNTY, Tenn. — Parents in Grainger County are concerned their elementary school is breaking state law centering on recess and physical activity. The law requires students to have at least 130 minutes each week, which averages to 26 minutes a day, to have time for physical activity.
For students at Joppa Elementary School, that recess is at the end of the day. Tennessee law requires students to get a certain amount of physical activity every day, but some caretakers who have students at Joppa Elementary are worried their students aren't getting enough time.
“Those kids need a break. They need a brain break,” said Brittany Zacarro, a parent of a student. “Mid-day recess helps us reset, helps the kids.”
At Joppa Elementary, however, Zacarro said recess is scheduled for the end of the day. Tennessee Code § 49-6-1021 requires students in elementary school to have 130 minutes of physical activity each school week, including at least 15 minutes a day.
Suzanne Rybczynski is the Chief Medical Officer at East Tennessee Children's Hospital and said this time is important.
“We know that if you're sitting still, it's really hard to learn,” Rybczynski said. “The more you get your blood pumping, the more blood is flowing to your brain. It really can reset and you can refocus and learn better after getting up and doing some recess. I think adults know that too. After a while, if you're sitting and working for a couple of hours, you need to get up and move or you're not as productive. So, the same is true for children too.”
Zacarro said not all students at Joppa Elementary are getting that time. For her fourth grader, Zacarro said recess starts at 2:55 p.m.
Kids who ride buses are dismissed at 3:15 pm. Students who get picked up by parents sometimes leave the school day early – without recess.
“Everyone has been saying it's always been like this and I'm just like, 'Okay, well, we have a lot of issues behaviorally, mentally, physically. So let's figure something out,'” Zacarro said. “I know there's a lot of behavioral issues at that school or in Grainger [County] and, I mean, everywhere. We're all stressed out with all of the computers and everything that's pushed in our faces, we're constantly stressed out and we just need a break.”
WBIR reached out to the school's principal and secretary. Neither responded to emails or calls. The Director of Schools declined an interview and said he couldn't speak to the specifics of this school's schedule.
The director did say if students stay until the end of the day, they will get the required amount of physical activity. For kids who get picked up by parents earlier, they might not. The Director of Schools also said because of the school's location, bus and car riders need to come and go at different times.
“The busing issue, there's only one way in and one way out,” Zacarro said. “And so it has to be car riders first and then bus riders. I understand. I get it. But let us help, let parents help — tell us where you need us to help. I want to help. I want to be involved in my kids' school.”
As for why recess isn’t earlier in the day, the Director of Schools said state requirements for certain classroom instruction cut into the time for recess. It's not clear right now whether the school is breaking the law or not.
WBIR also reached out to the Tennessee Department of Education, but as of this story’s 6 p.m. deadline, we haven't heard back.
This concern isn’t only in Grainger County. Two years ago, three women with children in the Clarksville-Montgomery County School System formed a group "Say YES to RECESS Tennessee.”
“We realized there was a really large discrepancy of how many minutes [of recess] they need and how many minutes they're getting and how we felt that really affected not only their physical health but their mental health,” said Rachel Bush, an organizer of the group. “We're standing up to try and do something about it and fight for all the elementary and middle school kids in the state.”
The group is advocating for two 30-minute recess sessions for elementary school students across the state and 30 minutes a day for middle school students.
“Play is learning,” Bush said. “Recess really benefits every other area of the classroom. And if you look at it and say, ‘Well, it's just play.’ Yeah, it's amazing play and play is learning for children and they need it and their brains need it and their body needs it, and with the mental health crisis going on they definitely need it there too.”
It’s a message that Rybczynski echoes.
“It's so important that kids get recess because it's challenging for a little kid and an adult to sit still and learn for prolonged periods of time,” Rybczynski said. “So getting up and moving around really in increases their ability to learn and it also will help their well-being. They'll get some exercise and we know that's so important for development of kids over time.”
Zacarro said she’s been in contact with the Say YES to RECESS Tennessee group as it works to rally caretakers from each county in the state.