Breakfast for every student at Eisenhower High School in Rialto
3 min read
Photo RUSD: Every morning, between first and second period, a designated student from each classroom will pick up a rolling cart, packed with food and drinks, and bring it to their class to eat. Some breakfast items include fresh fruit, oatmeal bars, breakfast burritos and pizza pockets. Eisenhower hosted a community showcase on Tuesday, Nov. 19 to provide a close look at how the program works.
At the beginning of the 2019-2020 school year, on August 5, Eisenhower High School rolled out its Breakfast in the Classroom (BIC) program.
Since then, the school has gone from serving 400 meals per day, to serving 2,000 meals – during breakfast alone.
The BIC program has received much critical acclaim from local dignitaries, district superintendents and the community.
“Breakfast in the Classroom provides every student at Eisenhower High School a quick breakfast at the beginning of second period, every day of the week,” said Kristina Kraushaar, program innovator for Rialto Child Nutrition.
Every morning each second period class has a designated student who is responsible to go and grab the prepared breakfast cart.
“We’re bringing the cafeteria to the classroom. The rolling cart consists of one red bag and one blue bag. One of the bags is filled with the main meal item and the other is filled with the drinks,” continued Kraushaar.
Some breakfast items that students are provided include fresh fruit, oatmeal bars, breakfast burritos, and pizza pockets.
“This program gives students the opportunity to forge a stronger relationship with their teacher and their classmates. Since the implementation of this program the campus is cleaner, students are more alert and taking ownership of their campus,” shared Eisenhower High School Principal Frank Camacho.
Kraushaar also noted that since the start of the program teachers feel as if they know and understand their second period students the most, compared to all other classes.
“This program is truly creating a community. Teachers are saying they know their second period students the most, due to sitting down and partaking in a family style meal with the students,” Kraushaar said.
The breakfast begins every morning at 8:19 AM and lasts about seven minutes.
“The BIC program was in development for about eight or nine months before it took off. We formed a committee full of students, teachers and staff to assist with the planning and visit other model schools in the Los Angeles area who have a similar running program,” continued Camacho.
Camacho shared that since the implementation of the program at the high school level and the proven successful track record…many superintendents from neighboring school districts and local dignitaries have taken interest in the program.
“Since we have an overload of community members and beyond that would like to view and tour our process of the Breakfast in the Classroom program, we hosted a community showcase on Tuesday, November 19,” Camacho said.
At the showcase, members of the community were given a tour as to what the BIC process looks like and had the opportunity to attend a live Q&A, which was given by the students and teachers, discussing the positive impacts the program has had on the school and the lives of students. “Our goal is to be able to bridge what we do in the cafeteria through the classroom and into the community,” concluded Kraushaar.
