Wichita pilots 'purposeful play' in kindergarten, reports lower office referrals during recess

Wichita Public Schools staff on Feb. 10 described two district pilots aimed at increasing play time for young children and tying that work to attendance, behavior and early literacy outcomes.

Amanda Sharshel, a district leader on the initiative, said the pilots focus on the left side of a play continuum—free, student-driven play designed to increase relationships, social skills and oral language. "Free play or self directed is often heralded as the gold standard of play," Sharshel told the board.

Allison Renner, principal at Allen Elementary, described a recess pilot at Allen, Gammon and Woodman elementaries that reduced disciplinary office referrals during recess. "Just this year alone we've had a 21.4% decrease in office referrals that have occurred during recess times," Renner said. District staff also reported a 19% reduction in kindergarten office referrals across the four pilot sites when comparing the first two quarters of this year to the same period last year.

How the pilots work: the kindergarten "purposeful play" pilot provides a 40-minute block of interest-driven activity once a day; the district says the core instructional minutes for kindergarten were adjusted from a combination of intervention blocks so the pilot does not reduce required ELA or math core minutes. The recess pilot reduces prescriptive playground rules in favor of supervision that emphasizes safety, problem solving and student agency.

Data and professional learning: Sharshel said the district reached an 84.26% completion rate on the Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ) this school year, a measure used to screen developmental readiness. District coaches and external play experts will provide professional learning as the pilot expands; the district plans to add 10 schools to the kindergarten pilot next year based on readiness and other factors.

Board members asked about comparative control-group data and longer-term academic outcomes; staff said academic measures take longer to show change and that observational checklists for oral language and behavior are being developed.

Next steps: the district will expand the pilot to 10 additional schools next year, continue to collect office-referral and observational data and provide professional learning for participating teachers and principals.

Ending: staff framed the initiative as an evidence-informed strategy to build social skills, attendance and early-language growth that supports longer-term academic goals.