“The school districts that have cancelled recess have done so because it is inconvenient to principals and management staff."

Jim Iker

B.C. Teachers’ Federation president

The list of school districts cancelling recess grew to 12 Wednesday afternoon, as teachers began the first phase of their job action.

Students in Nanaimo, Prince Rupert, Prince George, Cowichan, North Okanagan Shuswap, Quesnel, Bulkley Valley, Kitimat/Terrace, Central Okanagan, Campbell River, Arrow Lakes, and Fernie/Cranbrook would not be taking the 15-minute morning break to play outside, the BCTF said.

BCTF president Jim Iker called the move “unnecessary and inappropriate,” saying that those districts that have cancelled recess should reconsider. “Principals, vice-principals, and excluded staff are more than capable of supervising the playground for 15 minutes each day,” Iker said in a statement. “The school districts that have cancelled recess have done so because it is inconvenient to principals and management staff. They have not even tried to find coverage as per the order from the Labour Relations Board.”

The LRB decision reached last week said, “With respect to any before/after school, recess or noon hour supervision normally provided by teachers, before/after school supervision related only to bus drop off and pickup, and recess and noon hour supervision will continue to be provided by teachers subject to the Employer utilizing management and excluded staff to the best extent possible to replace teachers for these activities.”

The decision also says that the use of management and excluded staff will be discussed locally and when agreement cannot be reached, the matter can be referred back to the board.

“Any recess cancellations falls squarely on the shoulders of school districts unwilling to move their staff around. Furthermore, teachers will continue to do previously scheduled voluntary activities. As such, there is no reason for any districts to cancel events, trips, or extracurricular activities,” Iker said.

The B.C. Public School Employees Association’s chief negotiator Peter Cameron said the decision was made in response to the demands of supervision on administrative staff who are already stretched pretty thin.

“They’re just trying to ration their own resources a bit,” Cameron said. “They’ve got lots to do and particularly in the midst of the responsibility to take over a bunch of things that would otherwise be done by teachers and still do their own things that in some cases includes teaching. There are a lot of demands on them and I guess the school district figure that is just not tenable.”

Juleen McElgunn, executive director of the B.C. School Superintendents Association, said decisions about cancelling recess are made locally by school boards and senior staff. She said her association has not been involved in the decision.

Research shows that moving around is good for learning, but there are ways to incorporate that into the regular school day that don’t have to include recess, said Wendy Carr, director of teacher education at the University of British Columbia.

“Kids need a break, no question,” Carr said. “But you can have lots of daily activity breaks in class and teachers can still take kids outside — they can do some science outside, or some of their (physical education.)”

The job action won’t affect recess in Vancouver because teachers don’t supervise during that time, said Patti Bacchus, Vancouver school board chairwoman. Instead, supervision aides and CUPE support workers provide that supervision.

In Surrey, the province’s biggest school district, management and exempt staff were supervising children at recess and before and after school. The district has no plans to cancel recess.

Sun education reporter

tsherlock@vancouversun.com

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