Several Arkansas elementary schools plan to participate in an extended-recess pilot program for the 2018-19 school year.
In some districts, the pilot program means free play time will go from the current 15 minutes after lunch to 60 minutes a day for kindergarten through fourth grades and 45 minutes for fifth-graders.
The one-year pilot program for selected schools is authorized by Act 1062 of 2017. The law specifies the periods each day of "unstructured and undirected play," and the play time must be separate from required physical education each week.
The goal is to "put the brain in the optimal state of readiness to learn," according to Blair Dean, a professor of Health, Physical Education and Sport Science at ASU. So it won't necessarily make the kids smarter, but more ready to learn! Plus, it's definitley a bonus when it comes to physical health.
The participating school districts and schools are:
Booneville School District
Booneville Elementary, K-4.
Camden Fairview School District
Fairview Elementary, K-1.
Cedarville School District
Cedarville Elementary, K-4.
Conway School District
Marguerite Vann Elementary, K-4.
Drew Central School District
Drew Central Elementary, K-4.
England School District
England Elementary, K-6.
Fort Smith School District
Elmer H. Cook Elementary, K-6.
Fouke School District
Fouke Elementary, K-5.
Gosnell School District
Gosnell Elementary, K-6.
Hot Springs School District
Langston Magnet Elementary School, K-4.
Lamar School District
Lamar Middle School, 4-6.
Magazine School District
Magazine Elementary, K-6.
Midland School District
Midland Elementary, K-6.
Mountain Home School District
Nelson Wilks Herron Elementary, 1-2.
Norfork School District
Norfork Elementary, K-6.
North Little Rock School District
Amboy Elementary, K-5; Boone Park Elementary, K-5; Crestwood Elementary, K-5; Indian Hills Elementary, K-5; Meadow Park Elementary, K-5; Ridge Road Elementary, K-5.
Prescott School District
Prescott Elementary, K-6.
Pulaski County Special School District
Daisy Bates Elementary, K‐5; Pine Forest Elementary, K-5.