Hadley Junior High to get breakfast program

Students at Hadley Junior High School soon will be able to start their day with a bite to eat.

The Glen Ellyn Elementary District 41 school board approved plans for the program after administrators said there's a connection between student performance and breakfast.

Principal Steven Diveley said the breakfasts at Hadley will consist of a la carte snacks.

"We're looking at a system next year ... to provide grab-and-go, snack-type materials for kids," Diveley said. "This is really more of a juice and granola bar approach."

Administrators said school staff members already are informally buying snacks for some students who might otherwise be hungry.

The breakfast would be available to all students, and free/reduced lunch eligibility will apply for the program as well.

At the end of the 2013-14 academic year, 24 students were eligible for free lunches at Hadley, while another 256 were eligible for "reduced-price" lunch, according to an email from Director of Communications and Grants Julie Worthen.

The breakfast program will cost $4,178.60, according to documents. The program is expected to break even through sales to students and government reimbursements.

School board member Erica Nelson said research points to a connection between student performance and breakfast.

"There is ... research around eating and academic success, it's out there, I've seen it, our PE teachers talk about this, our health teachers talk about it in junior high at seventh- and eighth-grade levels," Nelson said. "So it's not new that kids need to eat."