News article: Additional playtime in Elementary schools

Elizabeth Ucles’ news article in Community Impact Newspaper, “Elementary Students to Get Additional Playtime in the 2019-20 School Year” reports on the Frisco Independent School District’s decision to include 10-15 minutes of playtime per day to their 42 elementary schools. The district in Frisco, Texas mandated structured “brain breaks” at their schools in an effort to combat student reports of high stress and anxiety. The district first piloted these brain breaks in 5 test schools. The pilot was extremely successful. According to Ucles, “Non-test schools were twice as likely to claim feelings of being far behind in curriculum. Test schools saw no decrease in academics.” After a year of brain breaks with the 5 test schools, FISD expanded the brain breaks over all its elementary schools. These breaks give students an opportunity to be active in both body and mind, with brain break choices both indoors and outdoors.

Ucles’ news article stated that with the implemented brain breaks, students were more capable of comprehending information, effectively holding attention, and being less disruptive. Additionally, it was reported that these brain breaks improved students’ social emotional skills as well as their immune systems.

The FISD brain break news article helped ignite my research. Seeing that brain breaks and physical activity are so badly needed and effective in an elementary school day inspires me to present physical education as a form of stress relief and self care.

Ucles, E. (2019, July 5). Elementary students to get additional playtime in the 2019-20 school year. Community Impact Newspaper. Retrieved from https://communityimpact.com/dallas-fort-worth/frisco/editors-pick/2019/07/05/elementary-students-to-get-additional-playtime-in-the-2019-20-school-year/