In the first month of a new experiment inside a Dixwell school, the number of kids eating breakfast shot up by 75 percent—a swift change that officials hope will help students learn math and read books.
The eating took place at Wexler/Grant School, which serves 378 kids in grades pre-K to 8 at 55 Foote St. The school, which is in the first year of a turnaround effort designed to boost failing test scores and improve the school climate, is now home to the experiment in childhood nutrition.
On March 5, as kids began their annual high-stakes standardized tests, they tried out a new way of fueling up for the day.
They grabbed a morning meal not in the school cafeteria, as was their routine, but in the classroom. In doing so, they followed the latest thinking in school meals, which concerns not just what kids eat but where.
Studies show when kids are offered meals in the classroom, "they're more likely to eat it," said Sarah Maver, school wellness dietitian for New Haven Public Schools.
The program aims to boost the number of kids who eat free breakfast every morning, said Maver. She said studies consistently show that when kids eat breakfast, their grades, test scores and attendance rise—as fewer kids go to the nurse for stomachaches.
"You just can't say enough good things about increasing breakfasts," Maver said.
"Breakfast skippers have greater struggles managing weight," added Kathryn E. Henderson, director of school and community initiatives at Yale's Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity.