In a recent webinar hosted by Action for Healthy Kids, the topic of school breakfast and having breakfast after the school day has started was brought up for discussion. But why is this an important discussion? Well, because there are currently some problems with the way the public school systems breakfast programs currently operate. Some of these problems include lack of space (not enough room in cafeteria for entire school, at once), timing is another problem (students need to arrive well before the bell to get breakfast), competining activities such as talking with their friends, and the negative stigma that only the poor kids eat breakfast at the school. With all of these aspects in mind, it is important to have an open discussion about the changes that could and should potentially be made.
So, what options are there for school corporations to look into? Some options include breakfast in the classroom, second chance breakfast, and grab n’ go breakfast. Breakfast in the classroom would obviously be after the bell in class, second chance breakfast would be mid morning and in between classes, and grab n’ breakfast would be set up throughout the school for students to get in their way to class. All of these options could work effectively, depending on each individual school system.
I’m sure interested in the potential pros and cons of having breakfast after the bell. In the webinar they discussed each. The pros of having breakfast after the bell include increased classroom participation, eliminating the stigma, increases academic performance, increase in school attendance, decrease in tardiness, and improved behavior. Other studies have also noted that schools with breakfast after the bell had decreased the number of nurse visits from previous years. But what potential cons could we see? Decrease in productivity? Actually most teachers found an increase in student productivity. The only true cons discussed were the logistics of making this transition, such as getting all the faculty on board, and working on proper waste disposal from classrooms.
How do we know this can work? This webinar brought in Jessica Sankey, Wellness Director of Bellingham School District in Washington. This district had 11 schools in the district, and the average school had over a third of its students on free or reduced meals including breakfast. One school in particular had 80% of its students one free or reduced meals. The interesting statistic about this school in particular, was that only 43% of its students were taking advantage of the free breakfast, which they offered to all students regardless of meal price status. To address this, the school switched to breakfast in the classroom. They now have 100% participation, higher attendance and better test scores than previous years. The entire district is currently in the process of changing over.
Based on the case study discussed, it is clear that breakfast in the classroom can offer some serious benefits for students. Further research should be conducted at different schools and in different areas of the country to determine if it is a truly effective way of improving schools in America.
I enjoyed hearing about these new ways to increase student productivity in school and to provide breakfast to everyone regardless of meal price levels. This further proves just how important breakfast is in our lives. It helps us function for the rest of the day with energy and feeling well. Of course that is assuming you ate a well-balanced breakfast and enough of it. Although you did shed light on the benefits of having breakfast in the classroom, were the other methods of giving breakfast just as effective? The details and methods used for the classroom breakfast seemed great, but how would less fortunate schools be able to afford this extra breakfast food with less space and funding probable? In order to further delve into this finding, more research and replication studies need to be done to truly evaluate this effect across multiple regions and populations. Does it state if the breakfast period is mandatory to attend or if students were encouraged to not eat at home?
Breakfasts in the classroom seem like a great way to increase the amount of kids eating breakfast, and the time they would need to arrive at school if they wanted a school-provided breakfast. However, I see a few issues that I don’t know if they were addresses in the seminar. This doesn’t seem like it would affect the stigma surrounded free and reduced lunch/breakfast unless it was free to all, similar to how it is in Clarke county. If families who qualify for free or reduced lunch/breakfast don’t apply, this is one more meal a struggling family may have to provide their child. Either the child doesn’t bring a breakfast and may face more stigma from their classmates, or the families spend more money on a breakfast that can be transported to the school instead of eaten at home. It would be interesting to see where the breakfast comes from in the example you provided from the seminar.
I think that this is a great idea in theory, as every child should be eating breakfast. However, I’m not sure there would be enough funding to provide breakfast for free in the long run to all students. I also think it could potentially result in wasted food. I’d like to see this replicated in other schools from various areas based on academic scores and demographics. I think the most feasible option for all schools would be to offer an optional and free “on-the-go” breakfast, so that the kids who need it can have it, and those who are able to eat at home can do so. This way they are not making an extra mess in the classroom or cafeteria.
Anthony,
I remember my high school always had breakfast offered in the mornings in the cafeteria before classes up until the first bell. It was basically just like a normal lunch where you paid for what you ate, reduced and free breakfast was also offered and their wasn’t an issue with having too small of a cafeteria for the students because not many people were willing to show up earlier than they had to for class. I think that breakfast in the classroom sounds like a good idea on paper but in reality it would be too distracting with messes being made, kids getting up to throw stuff away, loud wrappers, spilled drinks, etc. A couple questions regarding classroom breakfast: How is it paid for? Do the teachers pickup the responsibility of being a cashier? Does the school provide it to everyone for free or do only certain student qualify for it? Can students bring in their own breakfast? How is enough breakfast prepared and distributed quickly throughout the school without wasting too much food on kids that aren’t present or brought their own breakfast?
I think that if offered in the cafeteria before class until the bell, breakfast becomes an incentive to show up early! Early bird gets the worm
Kristen, I honestly hadn’t even thought about the content of the food they were being given, and you make a great point. Sugary foods would most likely be the cheapest option for them, like cereal bars and pop tarts, but are not the best options for health. Obviously the healthy options will be more expensive? So what can the school do? Hopefully some additional government funding or fundraising could be done to help. Ultimately, I feel like they would have to schedule for any every other day kind of plan rather than super healthy options every day. I would also agree with you abihf seeing this at the middle and high school level. I’m sure that might not start as well as the elementary school, but over time as those students age, I think participation would increase greatly.
Anthony this was a really awesome post and I think it’s a great model for other school districts to follow. I really like the idea of breakfast in the classroom, and how they have evidence to support that it is beneficial for all the students and even the teachers. I personally would have loved to have a program like this, especially in middle and high school on days my bus would be late. I think it is definitely worth looking into, you never know how many children you could be helping by doing an act like this. I also think that making a change like this shows how much adults are invested in students lives and their success in the classroom.
Hi Anthony,
This is a very interesting topic. I agree that the school breakfast system does present many challenges for both teachers, students, and the cafeteria staff. It is great that a simple switch to breakfast after the bell improved so many positive outcomes among the students. I imagine that this format might also increase the time for the children to eat, which could be another benefit. However, I do have a concern with this method. By providing the classrooms with breakfast, does this limit or change the quality of foods that are served at breakfast? If buffet breakfast options are being replaced by cereal bars, sweetened cereals, and breakfast biscuits, this trade-off might not be the best. It could mean a decrease in the protein content of the breakfast and an increase in added sugar. Did the webinar mention this at all? However, I do recognize that the importance of National School Breakfast Program is simply to prevent a child from being hungry at the start of the day, and certainly any type of breakfast is better than that. It could be that the same pre-packaged items are served regardless. In this case, I would agree with the presenters of this webinar that the best method of service would be what could provide food to the most children.