Hi All, I'm proud to share Dr. Farrelly's response to our petition. Thank you all for helping to reinforce the importance of recess in our schools! Good morning, Thank you for reaching out to me and sharing your specific concerns regarding recess. As I shared with you, when I am given specific information (as oppose to generalities) I am able to follow up with our buildings, review practices and make changes if necessary. As a follow up to our discussion and email exchange, I wanted to share with you what has occurred within our administration team to address the concerns noted regarding recess. We have discussed the topic of recess at multiple administration meetings within the last few weeks. Rest assured that all of our central administrators and building principals agree on the importance of recess. All agree on the benefits of recess. All agree that not allowing students to partake in recess should not be done frequently. After our meetings and discussions, we agreed to reiterate the following to our teachers and paraprofessionals in the building: Recess is an important part of a child's school day; All other measures (i.e. positive reinforcements, phone calls etc.,) will be used prior to removing recess; A cafeteria paraprofessional cannot remove recess. This can only be done by a teacher or principal; If recess removal is used to correct a behavior - the parent and principal will be informed; If over a period of time the student's behavior is not corrected, a teacher, principal or psychologist will reach out to the parent to develop a plan to increase desired behaviors and reduce inappropriate behaviors. Thank you again for reaching out regarding your concerns. We all want what is best for children. We all want students to have positive experiences in a safe school environment. We all want students to progress academically, socially and emotionally. By working together and communicating regularly directly with school officials - we can achieve that. If you or any other parent has a specific concern regarding his/ her child, please contact your child's teacher and if necessary the building principal. Have a wonderful day. -yf Dr. Yiendhy Farrelly Superintendent of Schools West Babylon UFSD 10 Farmingdale Road West Babylon, NY 11704 Office: 631 - 376-7001 Fax: 631 - 376-7019 Twitter: @westbabylonsupt @westbabylonUFSD Facebook: @westbabylonUFSD