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Spotsy school board takes up recess issue
Parents again plead with Spotsylvania School Board to return to 30-minute recess in elementary schoolsDate published: 9/29/2009 BY PAMELA GOULD On a night in which the Spotsylvania County school division called each principal forward to celebrate the fact that every school met federal achievement standards last year, parents questioned why the school division this year put added pressure on youngsters to perform by cutting recess. Parent Amy Bellison Claymon said there "seems to be a lack of common sense." She called the advice of a consultant who recommended scheduling blocks of instructional time for elementary students "ridiculous." Claymon, like several parents, said her child has come home from school this year in tears for the first time. She said her daughter, a third-grader, "now comes home crying every day." Parent Sean Davis questioned why none of the school staff appeared before the board to dispute the parent complaints. "Why is it we just credited all principals for accreditation and why is it not one person is back here to rebut this," he asked the board. Nearly every principal left after they were recognized. One principal and one teacher stayed to help Julie Hurst, executive director of curriculum, with a presentation to the board on the new scheduling system. The school division implemented the scheduling change this school year to improve the use of instructional time and to improve performance, specifically allowing time for remedial work. The new schedule resulted in cutting daily recess by half for students in third through fifth grades--from 30 minutes to 15. Hurst said she was glad to hear from parents and is getting feedback from teachers and administrators. She said one teacher sent her a message expressing concerns and that she is willing to listen. One teacher addressed the board on the recess issue. Lorraine DelGrosso said she teaches in Spotsylvania and has a child in the school division, and said recess is part of the learning process. "Kids are upset. Teachers are upset even if they aren't saying it. Parents are upset," she said. Some parents urged the board to create an anonymous survey for teachers to get their input without fear of reprisal. One parent also recommended board members spend a day with a third-, fourth- or fifth-grade class to see just how tight the schedule is during their school day.
Date published: 9/29/2009
Trade Art for Reading.....absolutely not!
(posted by
, Oct. 2, 2009 1:24 am)
Shame on you larryg for attempting to devalue the God given, multi-culturally loved, & wordly valued gifts that hundreds & thousands of children are blessed with. How can you project yourself as a child advocate/educator and not know the success often acheived in art, PE, music & even on the blacktop at recess is what nutures a child's confidence, leadership skills, & self-worth! Yes we must set high expectations for all our children but those expectations should differ from child to child!!!
Trade Art for Reading.....absolutely not!
(posted by
, Oct. 2, 2009 1:23 am)
Shame on you larryg for attempting to devalue the God given, multi-culturally loved, & wordly valued gifts that hundreds & thousands of children are blessed with. How can you project yourself as a child advocate/educator and not know the success often acheived in art, PE, music & even on the blacktop at recess is what nutures a child's confidence, leadership skills, & self-worth! Yes we must set high expectations for all our children but those expectations should differ from child to child!!!
Trade Art for Reading.....absolutely no need!
(posted by
, Oct. 2, 2009 12:58 am)
Larryg have you not heard of multiple intelligences? No we should not trade one for the other. As an educator, we need to embrace the whole child. I have a sibling who makes more money than my spouse and I combined as an artist, which by the way was made possible with an athletic scholorship! Another sibling makes over $100,000 a year without a college degree and if it wasn't for the success acheived in highschool sports, this sibling may have never made it out of highschool!
Action and timeframes
(posted by
, Oct. 1, 2009 12:08 am)
We want our recess back and we thank Mrs. Blalock, Mrs.Wieland and Mr. Lora for their support. You care about your students and teachers. SPOTSYLVANIA COUNTY PARENTS EMAIL THE WHOLE BOARD AND TELL THEM WE WANT RECESS OUR RECESS BACK! Let your representatives know that you care about this and you will vote for those board members that support us!
We Want Action
(posted by
, Sep. 30, 2009 11:58 pm)
The board,teachers and all the research agree w/ parents that the kids need their 30 minutes back.Why is the board letting Ms.Hurst make you feel like we will be hurting the kids if we give them 15 minutes.We have always had 30 minutes including last year when every school was fully accredited and recvd their awrd on Mon.Ms. Hurst stole that 15 minutes from our kids and teachers and we want it back.We want the recess back now.U have already punished our kids for long enough.STAND UP TO DR HILL!
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