School Spotlight Isn’t Recess Supposed to be Fun? Practical Solutions for Outdated Practices
Rachel Leckrone
While the kindergarten and first grade students at Bethalto East Primary School eagerly looked forward to recess each day, the paraprofessionals, school nurse, and building principal certainly did not. Even the teachers, who undoubtedly appreciated the planning time recess granted, grew to anticipate all of the problems which would soon cross the thresholds of their classrooms following the recess bell. Students were engaged in unsafe behaviors, battling with conflict resolution, and struggling with emotional regulation, consequently resulting in a revolving door to and from the nurse’s office. Paraprofessionals were feeling frustrated and defeated. Teachers were attempting to navigate recess issues with only limited information. And the principal was reviewing video footage from the playground, following up with students, and calling families to inform them of occurrences. Everyone recognized that a change needed to be made but what exactly needed to change was a source of debate, to say the least. Throughout this article are the purposeful steps the staff at Bethalto East took to foster a sense of collective responsibility for improving safety on the playground through shared decision-making and solution-focused 60
