Teaching the Whole Child Starts With a Healthy Breakfast
We’ve all heard the saying, “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.” However, how many of us forget to make breakfast a priority and walk out the door without eating anything? I’ll admit I’m guilty of not following my own advice and occasionally missing breakfast. However, for many adults and children missing breakfast can negatively impact their entire day. It has also been well-documented that for students, missing breakfast consistently over time can lead to poorer health outcomes and learning issues. Students who miss breakfast perform lower on standardized tests, are not able to concentrate as well, and are more likely to make frequent trips to the school nurse, missing valuable class time.
The NEA Health Information Network (NEA HIN) believes that in order for a student to be learning ready they must have their basic needs met–including access to healthy food. Since 2010, NEA HIN has been involved with the Partners for Breakfast in the Classroom (PBIC), a consortium of leading education and nutrition organizations that have a shared passion for improving child health and educational outcomes through an alternative breakfast model called Breakfast in the Classroom. The other members of PBIC include: the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC), the National Association of Elementary School Principals Foundation (NAESPF), and the School Nutrition Foundation (SNF). Over the last four years, PBIC has successfully implemented Breakfast in the Classroom in fifteen school districts across the country and has helped to feed more than 37,000 additional students breakfast.
How the program works is fairly simple, the traditional school breakfast is taken out of the cafeteria and moved into the classroom after the school day begins. Alternative breakfast models come in many different shapes and sizes and there is no one size fits all method for every school. Some breakfasts are delivered directly to classrooms in roller bags or coolers, while others are available on a cart or kiosk in the hallway or cafeteria and taken to the classroom. Students eat their breakfast while the teacher or paraeducator takes attendance, collects homework, or teaches a short lesson. The program takes between 10-15 minutes from start to finish and ensures that all children reap the health and learning benefits associated with breakfast.
For the 2014-2015 and 2015-2016 school years, PBIC is looking forward to move into the next phase of our work by implementing Breakfast in the Classroom in seven states. By working with a variety of state and local partners, we hope to encourage more school districts to apply for our grant and implement a successful alternative breakfast model. The seven selected states include: Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. NEA HIN will be partnering with the NEA State Association in each of the respective states to ensure that the voices of teachers, paraeducators, custodians, food service professionals, and all impacted school staff are included prior to the program being rolled-out.
In addition, we are very lucky to have the National Education Association (NEA) Secretary-Treasurer Princess Moss serve as our national spokesperson for PBIC. “As the Partners for Breakfast in the Classroom continue efforts for the third year, the history of success is encouraging and underscores the role food plays in helping our children grow into healthy and well-educated young adults,” said Princess Moss, Secretary-Treasurer at NEA. “The benefits of children eating breakfast at school are well-documented and expansive, with better performance on standardized tests, better attendance records and are less disruptive in the classroom. It’s reassuring to know that thousands of more students will reap the benefits of a nutritious morning meal.”
To find out more information about Breakfast in the Classroom or to apply for a PBIC grant, visit www.breakfastintheclassroom.org. You can also follow PBIC on Facebook and Twitter for the latest news and information.
Posted by Annelise Cohon
on November 19, 2014