Beyond The Bell: Health Department Partners With OKCPS

It can be tough for anyone to sit and listen to someone talk for hours at a time and even tougher for a kid.

So at Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary, teachers take students through 'brain breaks.'

To get restless or tired 10-year-olds out of their classroom slump, they turn on a program introduced by the health department.

And after just a few minutes of moving and chanting, their bodies and brains are better off.

“That’s the idea, is to get them up out of their chair, activate their bran in a different way before they get back at it,” Sydney Sevier with the Oklahoma City County Health Department (OCCHD) said.

OCCHD partners with 12 schools in the Oklahoma City Public Schools District to try to make a dent in the state's poor health statistics.

“One in three kids are overweight,” she said. “This is the first time that this generation has a lower life expectancy than their parents.”

Sevier suggested the school also switch to what they call 'structured recess.' It's no longer a free for all. Each student has to participate and play.

“The red team is winning right now and I made two points today,” said Demetrize Carter.

The game provides physical activity, teaches them social skills, and gets them ready to hit the books.

Students just wish it didn't have to end so soon. “Recess needs to be longer!” Alazia Godwin told News 9.

The principal said structured recess also helps immensely with behavioral issues.