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Saturday, September 8, 2012

No Recess in Syracuse?

You heard me, there will be no recess scheduled in Syracuse city schools this year.  On top of that you can bet that they don't have daily PE either as it is not mandated by the state DOE.
“If they are going to opt to do recess, they are going to be taking time from ELA (English language arts) and math, and that’s a choice I hope every teacher considers very carefully,” Kelley said.

They have obviously not read the latest on brain development, physical fitness and academics.

I spent a few days in March at Naperville, IL where PE, recess, and physical activity is paramount to learning for all, but especially for those with difficulty learning math, and reading (part of Common Core). These are the results for the Learning Readiness PE program over 5 years:
  • Reading rose 1-2 grade levels
  • Math scores increased 10-22%
Don't forget to get your resources for the benefits of exercise, fitness on academics at:

One of the main authors of the brain study on youth who exercise is Chuck Hillman and you can find one of his papers here from the Nature journal "Be smart, exercise your heart: exercise effects on brain and cognition"