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Recess has traditionally been a part of the school day in public elementary schools, offering students the opportunity to breathe in fresh air, work off energy, and socialize with friends outside the confines of the classroom. However, in the interest of providing additional instruction during the school day, many schools have moved away from recess in favor of more classroom time. In some areas, recess has been on hiatus for years, but parents and educators are joining together in a movement to resuscitate recess after finding numerous benefits this time of free play provides. This article will take a look at some of the schools that have done away with the popular playtime and why many are bringing the ritual back to their playgrounds.

This video discusses eliminating a recess break.

The Benefits of Recess

While recess may not seem to have many benefits to daily studies on the surface, research into the matter seems to prove otherwise. On their website, the Florida Department of Health cites numerous benefits of recess, which impact the students' physical, emotional, cognitive, and social health and wellbeing. Some of the physical benefits of recess include:

• More time spent in active play
• Proper growth and development from physical activity
• Helps children maintain a healthy weight, reducing the risk of some diseases later in life
• Improves bone mass and density, lowering the risk of fractures throughout life

There are also cognitive and

Amidst schools struggling under tight budgets and fewer resources, a new report by the NAACP provides startling information about where state money is allocated. While schools are forced to find more ways to pinch their pennies, the cost of incarceration around the country is rising. The most disturbing fact surrounding this reality is where the money is going: to cities and neighborhoods where the quality of education is at an all-time low. It turns out that the more we spend on incarcerating individuals, the less we have to spend on public education. By the same token, the fewer that graduate from high school, the more dropouts that end up incarcerated. This vicious circle doesn't seem to have an end, but several laws and policymakers hope to change that reality with the release of this report.

Misplaced Priorities

The NAACP's report is titled Misplaced Priorities: A New Report from NAACP. This organization tracked a slow but steady shift away from public education spending and into the criminal justice system. While funding for higher education between 1987 and 2007 grew by just 21 percent, corrections funding grew by 127 percent!

The researchers who conducted this survey found a distinct link between over-incarceration and the destabilization of communities, according to the NAACP website. It also found that this connection usually has the most significant impact on vulnerable and minority populations. Six cities were studied for the report, and each showed similarly troubling results.

Surprising Statistics

KIPP schools, part of the Knowledge is Power Program, were lauded in the film, "Waiting for Superman," as a model for other public schools to follow. The higher graduation rates, even in some of the poorer areas of the country, seem to point to the benefits of longer school days and a few weeks of summer school to help kids catch up on their studies. However, recent reports about KIPP school results are casting some doubt on the results these schools have boasted.

Demographic Questions

A recent study conducted by Western Michigan University and Columbia University's Teachers College in New York suggest that the stellar graduation rates seen in KIPP schools may be due more to attrition than to teaching methodology. According to a report at Bloomberg, KIPP schools may even "cherry pick" their student population, with lessdisabled students or children with limited English skills than other schools in their area. In addition, the new study found that the per-student funding may also be higher in KIPP schools.

Gary Miron, the lead author of the study, said that while KIPP schools do have above-average academic performance with a predominantly poor student body, the students that attend these schools may not be as indicative of the demographics of the district as once thought. Miron told Bloomberg, "There's a perception that KIPP is a model for turning around troubled schools. That's a myth."

Attrition Problems

One of the

Michelle Rhee is a controversial figure, to be sure. During her brief tenure as chancellor of Washington D.C. schools, Rhee managed to ruffle more than a few feathers. She also developed a loyal fan base that has followed her to her latest project, StudentsFirst, a non-profit committed to education reform. Since her exit from Washington schools, some questions remain about whether Rhee's approach to education reform really does put students first. Case in point: there are recent questions in an in-depth report by USA Today about a high number of changed answers on standardized tests in some Washington schools.

This video reports on Michelle Rhee's tenure as Chancellor of the D.C. public schools.

Details of the Report

An investigation by USA Today exercised D.C.'s Freedom of Information Act to obtain data that documented test scores for one of Washington's schools for the past three years. Crosby S. Noyes Education Campus was considered a "shining star" by Washington's public school officials after the school was able to raise standardized test scores by record-breaking numbers. In 2006, only 10 percent of Noyes students scored "proficient" or "advanced" in math. Just two years later, as many as 58 percent scored that high, and reading scores shot up as well.

Michelle Rhee was particularly interested in Noyes, and she used the school as an example of how she implemented changes that could