One big lesson we took from Attendance Matters Month was the importance of supporting data. When you are trying to bring stakeholders on board to support your effort—whether it’s improving attendance or implementing breakfast-in-the-classroom—data-driven arguments are crucial to your success. Each stakeholder group has their own lens through which to view your program, and each…
Easing the “Breakfast in the Classroom Jitters” When cafeteria manager Judy Eastman found out she would be implementing breakfast-in-the-classroom at Grand Island Public High School she initially felt a little overwhelmed, but was quickly convinced the program was best for her students. “I’ve been in foodservice for twenty years, and a manager for ten of…
When it comes to moving breakfast from the cafeteria to the classroom, there are a lot of moving parts—literally and figuratively! In addition to working out the delivery method for getting food to the classroom (Line service to-go? Grab-and-Go kiosks? Direct delivery?), it’s important to gather stakeholder support for the program–this means engaging teachers, administrators,…
Dollars and Cents: Budgeting for BIC In 2016, Livingston Parish Public Schools Foodservice Director Sommer Purvis sat in the audience at SNA’s Annual National Conference for a Partners for Breakfast in the Classroom presentation called “A Director, a Teacher, and a Principal Walk into a Bar.” She loved the idea of serving her students universal…
What do superintendents say about breakfast-in-the-classroom? Here’s a round-up of some of our favorite quotes from the blog–and links to the original articles, of course. “I wanted to explore breakfast-in-the-classroom because I thought we were wasting time in the morning, and even though we were already serving universal breakfast district-wide, a lot of kids weren’t…
“CEP opened up a lot more options for us in terms of breakfast-in-the-classroom. In some places the combination of CEP and BIC helped us go from 20-30 percent participation to 80-90 percent—that’s just a huge, huge difference. One of my schools was even serving more breakfasts than lunch for awhile!” [Read more] Craig Hodge, Clarke County School…
Donna Martin (Ed.S, RD, LD, SNS) is an active SNA member, and recently completed a three-year term on the School Nutrition Foundation’s Board of Directors. In February 2016, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics announced that Martin was selected to serve as president-elect of their Board of Directors, including a year as president of the…
Donna Martin (Ed.S, RD, LD, SNS) is an active SNA member, and recently completed a three-year term on the School Nutrition Foundation’s Board of Directors. In February 2016, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics announced that Martin was selected to serve as president-elect of their Board of Directors, including a year as president of the…
This is Part Two of our breakfast-in-the-classroom interview with Tim Foster, principal at Cochran Elementary in Jefferson County Public Schools. Today we take a closer look at the morning routine at Cochran, and learn more about Mr. Foster’s approach to stakeholder engagement with teachers and school staff. Like many breakfast-in-the-classroom champions, Tim Foster believes that…
When it comes to the success of a breakfast-in-the-classroom program a supportive principal is crucial. Managers and directors tell us time and again, ‘I would love to do breakfast-in-the-classroom, but first you have to help me convince my principal!’ When the principal is on board, they can act as a champion to rally other stakeholders…
