Innovative nutrition programs bring
health, awards to Irving schools

By Jess Paniszczyn

Generations of school children have viewed cafeteria lunches with suspicion. Many adults might be surprised to learn that mystery meat, bug juice and green wobbly stuff has gone the way of the hickory stick and dunce hat.

Today’s Irving ISD Food Services offers carefully planned breakfasts, lunches and snacks while teachers work to make students more nutrition savvy. The dedication of Irving schools and cafeterias was rewarded in grand style when T.J. Lee Elementary School and the Food Services Department won the United States Department of Agriculture’s first Silver School Award presented to a Texas school during the 2006-2007 school year. They followed that feat by becoming the first school in Texas to win the USDA’s Gold School Award.

“Recently our partnership, T.J. Lee Elementary School and the Food Services Department, won USDA’s highest school nutrition award, the Gold School Award,” Michael Rosenberger, IISD’s director of Food Services said. “That award was a combination of serving school lunches that meet the highest nutrition standards in the entire country; and in partnership with the school, providing nutrition education and physical education.  It is not just what the cafeteria does. It is what the school community does to make this award happen.

“The other 19 elementary schools have applied for the Silver School Award. We are expecting any day now to get word on those Silver Awards. We are hoping to go gold for all those schools that go silver.”

Maria Elena Coronado, Principal for T.J. Lee Elementary, said the school’s nutrition programs have grown out of a concern to do what is best for the students.

“In order to really do well academically, students need to be healthy. By focusing on their nutrition education within the classroom with our nurse, our teachers and cafeteria manager, it just kind of knitted itself to going for the gold award,” Principal Coronado said.

“We are going to do whatever we need to do in order to make sure the kids get what they need. Our teachers went above and beyond by integrating the nutrition education TEKS that are required by the State of Texas. We had to integrate a lot of the nutrition education with art, music and P.E. I think that was so unique. There is not enough time in the day to teach everything that is required. So teachers have to be very creative in their lesson planning.”

T.J. Lee students take a great deal of pride in their school’s award.

“The USDA award was a recognition of what was already in place here. It is not about what we feel. It is about what the kids feel about what they have accomplished.  They walk around just a little bit taller. They talk about winning this award, and they remember that.

Our philosophy is building life long learners. I think we have accomplished that. Our students are going to continue learning about their health for the rest of their lives. They are very aware of what they are eating,” Principal Coronado said.

A growing program, Breakfast in the Classroom helps kids stay focused during lessons.

“We have seen a huge drop in tardies, because we have the Breakfast in the Classroom program.  That was something we worked for this past year. So many times, our kids only have the meals they have at school. It is not because parents don’t want to feed them, sometimes it is not possible for one reason or another. It was important that they get what they needed here at school, and that it be the best possible meal that they could get.

Academically, if a child is not sitting in class hungry, they are going to be more alert, ready to work and ready to learn,” Principal Coronado said.

“Another program available for our kids is our after school snacks for tutoring. Many schools are tutoring after school in preparation for the TAKS Test. We have about 150 kids involved in the program.  Every Tuesday and Thursday as we take attendance we deliver the snacks. That way the kids have their after school snack. I think it really helps the kids focus.”

Rather than being viewed as an extracurricular component of school, the cafeteria is now being recognized as a vital component of childhood education.

“Hungry students don’t learn,” Mr. Rosenberger said. “If you have a child who hasn’t had a good dinner or any dinner the night before, and for whatever reason hasn’t had breakfast, not only is that child not going to learn, but that student will be distracting students around her. One hungry child has an impact on learning out of all proportion to that one child.

“Through the Breakfast in the Classroom program, every child eats for free regardless of economic level. Kids come to school, go to their classroom and eat breakfast. Students eat together and learn together.  This program builds community bonds. In the elementary schools, this program has gone from two to 14 schools. The three Early Childhood Educationschools have Breakfast in the Classroom and Lunch in the Classroom.

“A couple of the middle schools and elementary schools have the Universal Breakfast program.  Breakfast is free for all students, but they still go through the cafeteria line.”

Cafeteria meals can also have a direct impact on a child’s health today and in the future.

“The issue of childhood obesity and the epidemic of type-two diabetes have been in the news quite a bit. In Irving, we have several sub-groups who are even more likely to suffer from type-two diabetes and obesity. Those are the African American and Hispanic sub-groups, according to the statistics.

We have an obligation to do everything we can to give our students the best chance to succeed.

Healthy students make the best students,” Mr. Rosenberger said.

“We strive for the best. Food Services serves the healthiest meals possible at the lowest possible price. We are putting students first. We integrate the nutrition education through math, science and social studies. The result is a whole community coming together focusing on nutrition.

“We keep our breakfast and lunch prices the absolute lowest in the Metroplex. We have a survey on the Food Service web site where we compare our prices to area school districts, and we are just rock bottom. We don’t want price to be a reason that students don’t get a healthy breakfast and lunch.”

Over time, the school cafeterias have made several changes to provide more nutritional meals.