Breakfast in Mr. Beard's Classroom
Posted by Katherine Van Steenburgh on Thursday, October 13, 2011
Does in-classroom breakfast really make a difference? I know a classroom of 7th graders who would say, “YES”. This year, Robert Morehead Middle School in Pine Bluff, Arkansas started in-classroom breakfast and it’s been a big success.
The school’s principal, Principal Prim, is committed to serving and taking care of all of the students who attend her school. 93 percent of the students at this middle school qualify for free or reduced price meals and many of the children rely on the school meals. Since launching in-classroom breakfast, they have more than doubled the number of kids getting breakfast everyday (150/day to 335/day). There are many barriers to traditional breakfast programs that in-classroom breakfast addresses and the bottom line is that it provides more kids with reliable breakfasts.
Mr. Beard teaches 7th grade science at Robert Morehead Middle and I got to spend the breakfast period with his class. He has observed a positive impact in his classroom as a result of the in-classroom breakfast. 6 of the 11 students in his class said that they had never had a consistent breakfast 5 days a week before the in-classroom breakfast program started at their school. Those students shared with Share Our Strength how hard it is to focus and learn when their stomachs hurt and they feel irritated and sleepy because of hunger.
If you have questions about in-classroom breakfast and the necessity of introduce this and other alternative breakfast models in schools across the country, I suggest a visit to Mr. Beard’s class.
October 13, 2011 | 0 comment(s) | Tags: arkansas, no kid hungry
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