date nearly forty percent of the nation's 16,000 school districts have either modified, deleted or are considering deleting recess from the daily elementary school schedule. (National Association of Early Childhood Specialists-NAECS)
             "Opportunities for children to be physically active during school time are sparse and becoming increasingly so." (Dale, Corbin & Dale, 2002)" Administrators cite that a "fear of lawsuits if children become injured, a concern over children's safety from stangers around school grounds, and a shortage of people to supervise the children during recess" has led many schools to implement "no recess" policies. (Ramsburg, D.,1998)
             Today's educators are at a loss about how to improve student's performance in school. (Schulz, 1998) "It all began with the 'Nation at Risk' report in 1983," says Charles Doyle, assistant dean of the School of Education at Chicago's DePaul University. This was a federal call to action that shocked the nation when it highlighted American schoolchildren's poor standing internationally and led to a push for standardized testing. (Goodale, D., 1998) Time spent outside the classroom like recess is seen as time wasted and the operating theory is that more time at desks equals higher test scores. (Schulz, 1998). This disturbing phenomenon has no serious research to back it up and is actually counterproductive to increasing the academic achievements of students. Professional organizations, educators, administrators, teachers, and parents are becoming increasingly concerned with this present trend. (NAECS)
             Recess provides children with an avenue for their ...