CMS aims to help students start day right, making breakfast more appealing
By Andrew Dunn, The Charlotte Observer | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
The district began offering free breakfast to all students, regardless of income, at the beginning of last school year. It was billed as a way to increase academic performance without much local expense. The
Before the switch, CMS served about 30,000 breakfasts a day despite about half of the district's 141,000 students being eligible for free breakfast based on income.
"I was, frankly, disappointed," Hobbs said. "Maybe it takes time for families to realize they can send their kids to school and have them have a good meal."
A small group of elementary schools are experimenting this year with grab-and-go options and strategically placed kiosks to try to convince more students to eat breakfast at school. The goal is to learn lessons that can be applied across the district.
Free breakfast has long been a priority of groups such as the
They've also been relatively uncontroversial. While the federal school lunch program has been criticized about its waste and cost by groups such as
CMS offers free breakfast to students at no cost to the district, Hobbs said. The federal government contributed
Free breakfasts in schools appear to be catching on nationwide. The
Now, CMS has brought in a team from
They're working with three elementary schools -- Montclaire, Pinewood and Berryhill -- using a grant from the insurance company-affiliated
"We said, 'Breakfast is free, why aren't you eating it?' " said
At Montclaire
Students at
Then, you took a tray through the line, loaded it up and sat at cafeteria tables to eat. Now, kids grab a milk and a bag full of choices to take to their classrooms. On Tuesday, choices included a hot muffin or breakfast pizza, a cheese stick, a box of Rice Chex or Trix cereal, apple slices, orange juice or apple juice, and a milk.
There were logistical changes, too: Buses drop students off on the other side of campus, so students have to walk by the cafeteria before arriving at their classrooms. They installed softer lighting in the cafeteria to make it more inviting. They put in a new serving line to make it easier to get to the food. And administrators and teachers cajole the kids daily to get themselves something to eat.
The district is trying similar changes at Berryhill. At Pinewood, the school is targeting students who arrive late with a breakfast cart near where cars drop off.
The new system isn't perfect. The line Tuesday morning at Montclaire backed up near the check-out station, where kids put in their five-digit ID numbers to log that they picked up a breakfast. Gilbert said the school is planning to bring in a new check-out line to speed things up.
The full results of the changes are yet to be seen. But through the first 14 days of class, Gilbert said the school had served 1,400 more meals. Before, the school was serving about 250 breakfasts each morning. Now it's closer to 400. The school has about 700 students.
Principal
"I do know there's a difference in the relationships between teachers and kids. They're in the classrooms, eating and talking," she said. "For me, that's a huge piece, the relationship building."
Growing option
Despite growth at CMS being below expectations, more students are eating breakfast across the state and country than they were a few years ago.
In 2013, nearly 420,000 students participated in the school breakfast program in
"You need to get breakfast to students to get their stomach full and energy going," she said. "I'll send them back to go get a breakfast."
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