Why Breakfast After the Bell Programs are a Best Practice for Student Attendance and Achievement
As an organization that focuses on improving school attendance, Oakland Natives Give Back supports interventions that create the conditions for students to get to school and achieve. The practice of providing students with universal free breakfast after the start of the school day is one such intervention; schools that implement “breakfast after the bell” (BAB) programs witness significant improvements in student attendance and achievement.
An analysis of the USDA’s School Breakfast Program found that school breakfast participation significantly improves school performance and reduces both absenteeism and tardiness.
On average, school breakfast reduces absenteeism by 1.5 days per child and leads to a 17.5 percent boost in math scores on standardized tests.
Various other studies indicate that students who eat breakfast have improved cognitive performance and report increased motivation.
Despite these well-researched positive impacts, data from the 2014–2015 school year indicates that only 38 percent of low-income students in California are accessing school breakfast.
School breakfast participation is low in large part because most schools offer breakfast (the cost of which is determined by a student’s free and reduced lunch registration) before the start of the school day. Barriers to participation in this model of breakfast provision include morning schedules, competing morning priorities, or stigma.
BAB programs eliminate these barriers to participation by offering a free breakfast to all students after the school day starts. Breakfast distribution can take a range of forms, including breakfast delivery to classrooms, prepackaged “Grab n’ Go” breakfast distribution via centrally located kiosks, or breakfast service during an extended break between first and second periods.
BAB programs are a proven method of increasing school breakfast access for those who need it: in one school, implementing a BAB program increased breakfast participation by 35 percent in one year.
A California Food Policy Associates report based on the experiences of 105 school principals of schools with BAB programs revealed overwhelming support for the BAB model:
82 percent of participating principals noted increases in school breakfast participation
87 percent believed that other principals should explore launching a similar program.
46 percent of principals reported improved student attentiveness
22 percent reported fewer visits to the school nurse
21 percent reported fewer occurrences of absenteeism.
These survey findings confirm academic research, which indicates that students who have breakfast exhibit improved cognitive function and perform better on standardized tests.
Given the success of the the Grab n’ Go model at four participating OUSD middle schools, the OUSD Nutritional Services department would like to see that model expanded district-wide.
Startup costs for existing OUSD BAB programs were covered by grants, which schools can obtain in partnership with the Alameda County Community Food Bank and other community entities. In the long term, BAB programs are completely financially sustainable: the higher breakfast participation rate at participating schools brings increased school meal reimbursement revenue, which covers the increased costs of labor and supplies.
Oakland Natives Give Back hopes to see more OUSD schools implement BAB programs as part of their efforts to improve attendance and academic performance.
