Lewiston schools cutting recesses in aim to boost classroom time
Breaks and other interruptions will be scaled back.
LEWISTON – Leaders of the city’s elementary schools hope to find more time to teach.
This fall, children in grades four, five and six will lose a 15-minute recess in the morning for more time in the classroom. Younger kids in grades one, two and three will also be harnessed for teaching time, losing the same recess during the middle quarters of the school year when the weather is at its worst.
“We don’t have time to teach what we’re supposed to,” said Leon Levesque, Lewiston’s superintendent of schools. “Why do you have school? Do you have it for recess or academics?”
Besides the changes in the recess schedule, administrators plan to restructure classes so there will be fewer interruptions, particularly during reading, writing and math lessons.
Currently, students are often excused from portions of these classes to accommodate music, art and physical education lessons. Teachers in these subjects typically split their time between several schools.
Administrators also hope to find more time for teachers to meet with one another to talk about curriculum or other issues.
The package of changes is aimed at responding to more pressure on the school system from federal “No Child Left Behind” legislation. Schools are under more pressure to teach basics. Meanwhile, money is tight.
Gus LeBlanc, the principal of Lewiston’s Montello School, figures that as much as three weeks worth of class time can be created by the proposed changes.
It’s done without making the school day longer or adding to the 175-day school year, LeBlanc said. Lewiston administrators figure that each school day costs the system about $100,000.
Kids will adjust, LeBlanc said.
They already have recesses before school begins and during lunch, he said. And if a teacher believes children need a break, a recess can be called.
“We provide kids with a lot of play time already,” Levesque said. “We’re looking to use the day more efficiently.”
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