To measure poverty, states look beyond free lunch, By Amy Scott, June 23, 2015, Marketplace: “For years, the federal school meals program has been one of the most powerful forces in education. Not just because it feeds kids, but because the percentage of students who qualify for free and reduced-price meals has been the main way schools measure poverty. That number, in turn, can impact everything from school funding levels to accountability programs. But that’s changing. Massachusetts has introduced a new way of measuring poverty in its schools…”
Tag: Free and Reduced Price Lunch Program
Summer Meal Programs
For low-income kids, meals aplenty this summer, By Jennifer Calfas, June 25, 2015, USA Today: “A chorus of ‘thank yous’ filled the room as each child reached for his or her packaged meal. Breakfast at the Barry Farm Recreation Center was served: A nectarine, a muffin and a carton of milk for each kid. ‘These are things that they probably don’t eat at home,’ said Swandea Johnson-Denson, a recreation specialist who works closely with the kids at the center each day. ‘When they’re with us, we know they’re eating at least twice a day, five days a week.’ With few school lunches easily accessible during the summer season, a number of non-profits across the U.S. are providing more meals for low-income children. The Barry Farm Recreation Center is one of many hosting sites across the country…”
US Schoolchildren Living in Poverty
One in five U.S. schoolchildren are living below federal poverty line, By Lyndsey Layton, May 28, 2015, Washington Post: “More than one out of every five school-age children in the U.S. were living below the federal poverty line in 2013, according to new federal statistics released Thursday. That amounted to 10.9 million children — or 21 percent of the total — a six percent increase in the childhood poverty rate since 2000…”