- Target:
- Parents in Dekalb and Fulton Counties, Atlanta Public Schools and City of Decatur
- Region:
- United States of America
- Website:
- pediatrics.aappublications.org
There are countless articles supporting 60 minutes of unstructured play throughout the day. The American Academy of Pediatrics has pushed for this, saying that "Cognitive processing and academic performance depend on regular breaks from concentrated classroom work.
This applies equally to adolescents and to younger children. To be effective, the frequency and duration of breaks should be sufficient to allow the student to mentally decompress". They also state that "Recess is a necessary break in the day for optimizing a child’s social, emotional, physical, and cognitive development".
As school has become more rigorous, play is all the more important. Although I understand that 60 minutes of recess may not be possible, I would like to petition for at least 30 minutes of playground time, plus 15 minutes of unstructured play IN the classroom 2 times throughout the day.
We, the undersigned, call on Fulton, Cobb and Dekalb County Boards of Education along with the City of Decatur Board of Education to increase recess time to 30 minutes per day, and to include two unstructured 15 minute breaks into the classroom routine, to account for 60 minutes of unstructured play per the American Academy of Pediatrics recommendations.
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The Return Recess Time to 30 Minutes petition to Parents in Dekalb and Fulton Counties, Atlanta Public Schools and City of Decatur was written by Sarah Lazarus and is in the category Children's Rights at GoPetition.