Two local schools are among 24 across the state selected through an application process to participate in an extended-recess pilot program. Mountain Home’s Nelson-Wilks-Herron and Norfork elementary schools will be among those in the initiative set for the 2018-19 school year.
Across the state, participation in 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.
In Mountain Home, Nelson-Wilks-Herron Principal Rita Persons says teachers at her school have advocated for additional recess time for a number of years.
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Persons says with the extended organized free play time for the first and second graders at Nelson-Wilks-Herron comes accountability.
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Persons says children do need to move. They need to get out and have active play with supervision.
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The one-year pilot program for selected schools was authorized by Act 1062 of 2017.
The guidelines also make it clear the extended recess time must be within the school day, not before or after.
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