Medway Middle School Recess Implementation and Research Notes

Medway Middle School has reintroduced recess for students in the seventh and eighth grades.
This change occurred after town officials became enlightened, defined as being awakened to knowledge or truth, regarding the diverse benefits of play.
Before this change, recess in the Medway district concluded after the sixth grade.
Under the new schedule, seventh- and eighth-graders receive $10\,\text{minutes}$ following their lunch break to socialize outside.
To socialize is defined as engaging in activities with others, usually friends.
Superintendent Armand Pires noted that this session is beneficial for releasing energy and aligning with the district’s social-emotional learning agenda.

Four years prior to the implementation, Medway Public Schools hired Ryan Sherman as the town’s first Director of Wellness.
Sherman’s primary focus is on social-emotional learning within the classroom environment.
The district has emphasized this type of learning for several years, aiming to integrate personal feelings, empathy, and understanding into every lesson.
Integrate is defined as bringing together and uniting into a whole.
Empathy is defined as identifying with or sharing of another's feelings, situation, or attitudes.
Social-emotional learning is not categorized as a standalone class; rather, it is a moral skill-set embedded within every academic subject, ranging from Algebra to Shakespeare.

Ryan Sherman participated in a task force composed of educators, parents, and stakeholders.
The group researched the effects of unstructured learning time across different age groups.
Key research findings included:
- Younger students thrive in classroom settings after expelling pent-up energy during recess.
- Fifth- and sixth-grade students specifically benefit from extended-time recess.
- Seventh- and eighth-graders benefit from "relief time" outside daily for approximately $10\,\text{minutes}$ , which provides opportunities for physical activity and socialization.

Research demonstrated that students who were provided with recess were able to maintain their focus and attention for longer periods.
Observed behavioral improvements included:
- Students were less fidgety in class.
- There were fewer behavioral issues recorded in the classroom.
Superintendent Pires observed that while $10\,\text{minutes}$ may not seem like a large amount of time during a single day, it represents a significant and important amount of time when aggregated over the course of an entire school year.

One year prior, recess at the elementary school level was extended from $15\,\text{minutes}$ to $25\,\text{minutes}$ .
This extension proved beneficial, as teachers reported a notable difference in the attention spans of students following the longer break.
There was deep interest from the community regarding this issue; parents and educators expressed a need for students to engage in unstructured activities, also known as (AKA) recess.
Unstructured time is considered potentially more beneficial for youth development than time spent behind a desk.

Superintendent Armand Pires shared that when he entered seventh grade, recess was no longer provided, and he considers that void, or empty space, to have affected his personal learning experience.
Pires recalled struggling to maintain focus in the middle of the school day around lunchtime.
Even in his current professional life, Pires finds that he needs to take movement breaks to ensure he can complete the work required during long hours.
He continues to look forward to taking quick breaks for fresh air as an adult professional.

The central idea of the report is that recess provides a break from learning that can have a positive effect on students' minds and bodies.
The purpose of the article is to inform readers about a new shift in education.
The word "void" in the context of the superintendent's experience refers to an empty space.
The mention of the cumulative effect of $10\,\text{minutes}$ over a year shows that a small change can have a valuable impact.

Do you think you have enough unstructured time in your school day? Why or why not? How much more unstructured time would you want to have and what would you do with it?
The article lists several reasons Medway schools added recess to middle school. Which reason for recess was most compelling to you and why?
Who do you think benefits from recess more, teachers or students? Why?