Kansas City schools try out breakfast in the classroom

Aug. 24—Fifteen-year-old Alfredo Salazar II steps inside his classroom at Wyndotte High School in Kansas City, Kan., drops his books at a desk and joins his classmates in the new morning school routine. The sophomore helps himself to breakfast—a whole-grain waffle, apple slices and milk—delivered directly to his classroom and offered for free to the entire student body since school started.

Until breakfast was delivered directly to the classroom, Alfredo never bothered to take part in the traditional cafeteria breakfast. Neither did about 90% of his classmates. Participation in breakfast was so low that teachers kept granola bars and snacks handy to help hungry students focus on instruction.

Breakfast in the cafeteria just wasn’t working. Now, though, the Kansas City, Kan., district is putting a grant to work this fall for “breakfast in the classroom” at 13 schools. In the program, Kansas City, Kan., joins about a dozen school districts across the country that have concentrations of students who qualify for federally subsidized lunches.