Laveen Elementary School District parents spoke out at a board meeting, frustrated after the district cut recess.

Superintendent Ronald Dickson said school principals eliminated an afternoon recess of 10 to 20 minutes at the district's six schools this year to "streamline" the school day, which adds additional time for academics. There is still a short recess after lunch, he said. The district has about 5,200 students.

About 20 parents, most of whom had students at Vista del Sur Traditional School, spoke at Thursday's meeting in the crowded Desert Meadows School cafeteria in Laveen.

The parents said they were angry their children told them of the recess cut, rather than school administration.

Dickson said a principal change at Vista was the reason parents were not informed. He told The Republic that Principal Jackie Hardiesty will meet with "stakeholders" to develop a compromise in the coming weeks. The school has about 625 students.

Parent concerns

Angela Evertsen, who has three Vista children, spoke at the meeting, attended by about 100, about her frustrations with cutting recess.

"I found out about this from my 6-year-old who came home and let me know there was no more recess," she said. "You expect so much out of our kids already every day. You have them for seven hours and you can make those seven hours count with a break included."

Although Evertsen's voice rang true for many of the parents, not everyone was against the cut, including Mary Canisales, a district graduate and Vista parent.

She said eliminating the "small afternoon break" did not affect her third-grade daughter. Canisales said she hopes that "using alternatives to recess" will help the district continue to see academic gains.

Cyndi Carleton said cutting recess has made her first-grade daughter physically sick because of school stress. Carleton wanted recess reinstated across the district.

"When we asked my daughter what has happened at school that has made her worried, her response was: 'Mommy, they took away my recess and I don't know why. I am trying to do my best by getting good grades, but I guess I'm not good enough to get my recess back,' " she said. "Needless to say, my daughter is having physical ailments at the lack of recess."

District response

Board President Freddie Bracamonte Jr. apologized for the "communication breakdown" and promised parents it wouldn't happen again.

Steve Winn, Vista parent of three, said there is a "serious risk" children "will get burned out" without the mental break of recess. He asked the governing board to vote on the issue and requested it be on November's agenda.

The board clerk, Randy Schiller, and the superintendent said they "hope" the afternoon recess issue is not on next month's agenda.

"I don't think its right for a governing board to micromanage a 10- to 15-minute period of the day," Dickson told The Republic after the meeting. "My plan is to have the principal work together with the stakeholders to come to a compromise."