Recess Boost For Framingham Students Under Consideration

FRAMINGHAM, MA — Framingham elementary school students may soon get a little extra free time during the school day.

The School Committee and Framingham Public Schools administrators are discussing a policy change that would increase daily recess time from 15 to 30 minutes for elementary schoolers. A School Committee subcommittee unanimously approved the policy change in late October, although the idea has not been finalized yet.

"The issue of recess was sparked at the kindergarten level where parental concerns were initially raised, largely by Barbieri Elementary School families, following the move during the 2021-2022 school year by the school administration to be consistent with the other eight elementary schools," Superintendent Robert Tremblay said in a memo to the School Committee about the origins of the proposal.

To achieve the increase for kindergarteners, the district may extend the daily snack period by five minutes. The district has not formed yet a plan to increase recess time for students in grades 1 to 5, according to Tremblay's memo.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), recess is good for academic and social development. A recent CDC report found that recess time is about 27 minutes per day on average across the U.S., and the recommended daily recess time is 20 minutes.

The change will be up for discussion at Wednesday's Framingham School Committee meeting, although more discussions are set to take place at the planned Nov. 17 meeting.