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.