Local Success Stories
Professional Soccer player ‘Blasts’ into Baltimore City’s Breakfast Club
One month after introducing a district-wide Universal Breakfast program, The Breakfast Club, Baltimore City’s Frances Scott Key Technology Magnet School celebrated National School Breakfast Week with a visit from Baltimore Blast soccer player, Lee Tschantret. The visit was made possible through a partnership with Mid-Atlantic Dairy Association, MIX 106.5 Radio and the Baltimore Blast soccer team. Other guests in attendance for school breakfast week included comedian and actress Mo’ Nique, radio’s 92Q “Big Phat Morning Show” and WBAL’s local news personality, Domenica Davis.
During his appearance, Tschantret walked through the breakfast line in the cafeteria, ate breakfast with several third grade students and signed autographs. Following breakfast, he hosted a mini-soccer clinic for over one hundred students during which he talked about the importance of eating a healthy breakfast and drinking milk, and demonstrated some soccer maneuvers. Student volunteers participated in a game of “head catch” and won autographed soccer balls. Afterwards, students had “milk mustache” pictures taken and autographed by Tschantret.
Frances Scott Key School is among thirty-nine schools in Baltimore City that began participating in The Breakfast Club starting February 1. For the past two years, one hundred sixteen of the district’s schools had already been participating in the program. Now, all 65,000 enrolled elementary and middle school students are able to eat a nutritious school breakfast at no cost to the student. Eleven of the thirty-nine schools celebrated a month-long Breakfast Club kick-off that included giveaways and daily raffle prizes for school breakfast participation.
Baltimore City Schools reports that CEO Dr. Bonnie S. Copeland is optimistic about the success of The Breakfast Club noting a marked increase in the number of breakfasts already being served around the district since notices went home with students last week. At Hamilton Elementary/Middle School for example, cafeteria staff report a 400% increase in the number of students arriving at school for breakfast this week.
Studies have shown that school breakfast improves academic performance and attendance, in addition to reducing truancy and behavior problems as well as lowering the number of student visits to the school nurse. According to the Baltimore City Public School System, results from the 2001 Abell Foundation’s Baltimore Breakfast Challenge showed that when three Baltimore schools began to offer all students free breakfast in the classroom, average daily attendance rose from 86% to 89%, disciplinary incidents were cut in half, and tardiness declined by two-thirds.
Eating a healthy breakfast each morning helps prepare students for a productive day of learning. The students are offered a choice of cereal, or another cold or hot food item, such as yogurt, breakfast Hot Pockets, waffles, cheese toast, fruit bars, breakfast egg pizzas, bagels, fruit juice, milk, and Graham crackers – a meal equivalent to _ of a child’s daily nutrient needs. Breakfast at school also saves time and money for the family, and kids enjoy eating breakfast with their friends.