It's not breakfast in bed, but local school leaders said Thursday that breakfast in the classroom is helping students start their school days better.
Jefferson City Public Schools and Moreau Heights Elementary School leaders described how the district's Breakfast in the Classroom program has benefited students at the school. The district showcased the program Thursday as part of recognizing the 30th anniversary of National School Breakfast Week.
Moreau Heights Principal Suzanna Haugen said there was a more than 50 percent drop in discipline referrals at school in January compared to December.
"We notice students beginning their day in a much more settled way," Haugen said, adding the classroom is a calm environment where students can sit and enjoy breakfast with their peers and teacher, and teachers have a chance now before the day starts to address a rough morning a student might have had before school.
JCPS Director of School Nutritional Services Dana Doerhoff said Moreau Heights' Breakfast in the Classroom program started in
January. It's an optional program that expanded to Thorpe Gordon Elementary School on Monday and is planned to expand to Cedar Hill Elementary School next week.
Doerhoff said the program has led to 100 more students a day being fed breakfast. Haugen said students are not missing breakfast anymore because of a long line in the cafeteria that they would walk out of when breakfast was served there.
The school's doors open at 7:30 a.m., and breakfast is served 7:45-8:20 a.m. School starts at 8:15 a.m. Students who arrive late can still go to the cafeteria to grab their breakfast, Haugen said.
The meals are reimbursed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Doerhoff said, and the grain item included can be muffins, cereal, or a hot item such as a pancake and sausage stick - depending on the day of the week.
Thursday's breakfast included mini bagels and applesauce.
No Kid Hungry Missouri sponsors the Breakfast in the Classroom program. The organization - part of a national nonprofit that works to end childhood hunger - provides small grants to schools to help with program startup costs such as food carts, No Kid Hungry Missouri Director Jon Barry said.
No Kid Hungry Missouri operates within the state's Family and Community Trust and is funded by a grant from the state's Department of Social Services, Barry said.
Eldon also has a classroom breakfast program, he said.
In addition to nutritional and anti-hunger benefits, children who eat breakfast attend more school, do better on standardized tests and are 20 percent more likely to graduate high school - "the more frequently a child has breakfast, the better off they'll be in the long run," Barry said.