Posted on 10/05/2012 5:14:42 PM PDT by SMGFan
Days after a report by two nonprofits cited Jersey City’s school district as an “underachiever” for not serving free or reduced-price school breakfasts to 82 percent of its eligible students, district officials are placing the blame squarely on parents.
The report, which lauds some Hudson County schools for boosting its participation in the federal school breakfast program, says Jersey City has 21,221 students eligible to participate in the program, yet only 3,880 do. District spokeswoman said school officials alert parents whose children are eligible for free breakfasts, but parents don’t seem interested. The program starts at 8 a.m., 30 minutes before the school day officially begins.
(Excerpt) Read more at nj.com ...
Most of the time I like our school, but our school is even worse when it comes to breakfast. They run the buses at regular time because they couldn’t possibly make a school employee be their 15 minutes before work. And then the kids that get free breakfast (or those that want to buy it) end up with about 10 minutes to put their stuff in their lockers or cubbies, get in the breakfast line, and eat. Many kids get in trouble for being late. My daughter used to occasionally like to buy on the “egg Mcmuffin†day buts says there just isn’t time. So she eats better at home. Kids whose parents won’t feed them or get it for free are late to class everyday!
They used to give the breakfast and lunch menus on the morning TV news. They seemed to have dropped it this year. The local superintendent used to crow about the 75% participation rate for the free meals. All of the meals are supplied by a contractor. Each meal is in plastic baggies that is microwaved. So, as you can imagine, there are no cooked meals, just microwaved junk. It is one of the biggest scams perpetuated on the taxpayer. In addition to the free meals, during the summer also, and meals to take home for the weekends and the free suppers provided for the latch key kids; the parents still get their food stamps which I assume that will be used to provide necessities such as $300 sneakers, lotto tickets, cigarettes, etc.
My family starts prayers at 6:30 each morning, and the first school bus (elementary, I think) goes by about 10 minutes later. I don’t know whether our local elementary school serves breakfast. (At home, those who can dish up before 6:30 can start eating, while those who arrive at the last minute have to wait 20 or 30 minutes, depending on the day’s lectionary and how long the chapters are in the Bible book we’re presently reading.)
I did my student teaching at a low income school that served free breakfast. So few kids could arrive early enough to eat their free breakfast that they had to allow them to take it to class with them- thus using up the first 15 minutes of the actual school day.
Getting children up and moving in the morning is a challenge no matter what their breakfast/education arrangements are. When my kids whine about getting up, I say, “Hear that? Those are your friends getting on the school bus - with clothes on already! Shoes even!”
I don’t understand why the elementary school has to start so early. Little kids (and their mothers, in pajamas, often) are on the street corner in the dark all winter. Could the school district be in collusion with the vendors of “after-school care”?
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