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So the school breakfast program here at Wood Elementary is giving the kids an opportunity
as soon as they arrive at school to pick up breakfast, and take it to their classrooms
and sit and enjoy a meal to pretty much get them settled in for the day.
The students receive their breakfast as soon as they come through the doors.
And they carry their breakfast into the classroom,
they set their breakfasts on their desks and then they go back out into the hallway
and put their backpacks up, and their coats
and they come back in. They immediately begin eating and as they finish their breakfast
they clean up their own mess, they throw it away and start their morning work.
Students are definitely more attentive throughout the morning
and you don't hear the I'm hungry by 10 or 10:30. They usually can focus.
Less trips, actually discipline problems in the morning.
Less tardiness, absenteeism is better.
We had one of our schools count breakfast trips to the nurse
and it was down 2,000 students from last year.
You can't learn if you're hungry. Maybe they are hungry because they are not getting to eat at home.
A lot of it sometimes is just because it's convenient here
and it's later in the morning. Nobody likes to get up at 6 in the morning
and eat and rush out the door.
By the time you get to school, it's a better time to have breakfast.
The benefits that you reap making sure every student gets the nutrition they need,
it's a smoother transition to the day. Now that we've finished eating, let's go ahead
with our lesson for the day. It's nothing but positive. Trying to educate a hungry student is no longer a factor.
It builds a sense of community within the classroom.
Teachers have told me that it gives them time to get to know your kids.
It's helped a lot with headaches, stomachaches
Having it in the classroom, they are more likely to eat breakfast.
We know on the academic side of things it's very helpful
for a kid to be able to get the nutrition that they need to enter into the school day ready to learn.