Although the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and the School Breakfast Program (SBP) help ensure that many low-income children have enough nutritious food to eat, some studies have suggested that the programs could be more efficient and cost-effective. In particular, concerns have been raised about erroneous payments that reimburse schools for…

This article describes how food service providers and district administrators find creative ways to provide better meals as part of a healthier school food movement. Throughout the nation, food service providers have cut down on the amount of processed foods served to students by replacing these items with more fresh fruits and vegetables, whole…

For over 20 years, Advocates for Children of New Jersey has published the Newark Kids Count Data Book, a one-stop source for child well-being data on the state's largest city. Newark Kids Count includes the latest statistics, along with five-year trend data, in the following areas: demographics, family economic security, food insecurity, child…

Through its commodity program, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) provides commodity foods at no cost to schools taking part in the national school meals programs. Commodities include raw ground beef, cheese, poultry, and fresh produce. Like federal food safety agencies, the commodity program has taken steps designed to reduce microbial…

This causal-comparative study examined the effects of the collaborative leadership style provided by professional learning communities (PLCs) on the students' Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) mean Value-Added achievement scores in language arts and mathematics. The study used twenty-nine selected middle schools in eight different…

This study examined the degree to which teacher behaviors established as predictors of achievement generalize to Hispanic students. Participants included 995 students (68% Hispanic) across Grades 3 through 5 and their teachers (N = 46) in an urban school district in the Midwest. Classroom dynamics were measured using the Classroom Assessment…

Families, whether guided or instructed to, often become involved in their children's homework. This study examined the effects of a weekly interactive mathematics program (Teachers Involve Parents in Schoolwork-TIPS) on family involvement, emotions and attitudes, and student achievement. Students and families (N=153) from four urban elementary…

"Kids' Share 2013: Federal Expenditures on Children in 2012 and Future Projections," a seventh annual report, looks comprehensively at federal spending and taxes on children. Federal outlays on children fell by 7 percent between 2011 and 2012, which is the greatest single-year drop since the early 1980s. While most of this decline is…

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) is the second largest federally subsidized food assistance program, serving approximately 31 million lunches each day. Nearly all public and private schools offer the federally reimbursed school meals program, which cost the federal government $9.3 billion to operate in 2008. This Issue Brief highlights the…

Background: Despite evidence in support of the health benefits associated with fruit and vegetable (FV) intake, national data indicate that FV consumption among school-aged children is below recommended levels, particularly among low-income children. School meals offered through the School Breakfast Program and National School Lunch Program can…

What does it mean for ethnic minority girls, who have historically been marginalized by schools, to "see themselves" in science? Schools fail to create spaces for students to engage their identity resources in the learning of science or to negotiate and enact new science-related identities. This study investigates relationships among…

Idaho Child Nutrition Programs (CNP) released the New Nutrition Standards for Idaho School Meals in January 2009 with the recommendation that all School Food Authorities fully implement the New Nutrition Standards for Idaho School Meals into their programs starting August 2009. Along with the release of the New Nutrition Standards for Idaho School…

This paper provides an update on all the new products and projects that U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) has been working on, in its effort to help schools meet the nutritional needs of the students and to help in the President's challenge to End Childhood Hunger by 2015. This issue includes: (1) Back to…

This report provides detailed information on the size of the achievement gaps between Hispanic and White public school students at the national and state levels and describes how those achievement gaps have changed over time. Additional information about race/ethnicity in NAEP is given in Appendix A. Most of the data in this report is derived from…

Background: Although great focus has been placed on nutritional and other consequences of changes in food-related policies within schools, few reports exist describing the impact of such changes on school revenue. This review provides an overview of the few revenue-related studies published recently, as well as information from a sampling of state…