The purpose of this study investigated the role of K-12 education in breaking the cycle of poverty in the Southeastern Public School District, focusing on the relationship between school-level poverty and key student outcomes: (a) graduation rates, (b) job placement, and (c) college acceptance. This study assessed the timing of federal-, state-,…

This study examined differences in grade school students' BMI percentiles before and after the "Healthy, Hunger Free Kids Act" of 2012 and factors that may have influenced those differences. Using publically available data from the Pennsylvania Departments of Health and Education, a comparative analysis of BMI percentiles, ethnicity,…

Purpose/Objectives: The purposes of this study were to: 1) analyze beverage selections of elementary students consuming National School Lunch Program meals (NSLP) and lunches brought from home (LBFH), 2) compare overall meal quality (MQ) of NSLP and LBFH by food components using Healthy Eating Index 2010 (HEI-2010), and 3) investigate the impact…

Purpose/Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate parent awareness and perceptions of changes to the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) implemented as a result of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act (HHKA) of 2010. Methods: An online survey of parents of school age (K-12) children in a Midwestern state was conducted (n = 2,189). The…

Purpose/Objectives: This study investigates the effect of meal component changes by the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 (HHFKA) on school lunch quality and consumption in elementary school students, grade 2-5 before and after the HHFKA guidelines were implemented in July 2012 using the Healthy Eating Index. Methods: In Spring 2012, before…

Purpose/Objectives: Increasing children's fruit and vegetable (FV) consumption is an important goal for the National School Lunch Program (NSLP). In 2012 the NSLP began requiring students to select a FV. The objective of this study was to compare children's FV choices in two school cafeteria environments a year before these new USDA regulations…

This study was conducted to determine if a growing, urban school district was adequately addressing the academic, social-emotional and behavioral needs of students identified as homeless under the McKinney-Vento Act. McKinney-Vento eligible students were compared to non-homeless virtual twins. Each twin was created through averaging three…

This study was conducted to determine if a growing, urban school district was adequately addressing the academic, social-emotional and behavioral needs of students identified as homeless under the McKinney-Vento Act. McKinney-Vento eligible students were compared to non-homeless virtual twins. Each twin was created through averaging three…

This study was conducted to determine if a growing, urban school district was adequately addressing the academic, social-emotional and behavioral needs of students identified as homeless under the McKinney-Vento Act. McKinney-Vento eligible students were compared to non-homeless virtual twins. Each twin was created through averaging three…

This report responds to the legislative requirement of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (P.L.110-246) to assess the effectiveness of State and local efforts to directly certify children for free school meals under the National School Lunch Program (NSLP). Direct certification is a process conducted by the States and by local…

The 2013 edition of the "Digest of Education Statistics" is the 49th in a series of publications initiated in 1962. The Digest has been issued annually except for combined editions for the years 1977-78, 1983-84, and 1985-86. Its primary purpose is to provide a compilation of statistical information covering the broad field of American…

This report serves as a quick reference guide for elected officials to compare key education policies and data in their states to the rest of the nation. The first section highlights major state policies for all 50 states in both table and chart formats (see Summary Charts ). The second section provides key state data, such as per-student spending…

This brief, based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau, examines how rural families use four of the major federal child nutrition programs. It finds that 29 percent of rural families with children participate but that there are barriers to these nutrition programs, such as the lack of public transportation and high operating costs for rural schools…

"The Condition of Education 2018" is a congressionally mandated annual report summarizing the latest data on education in the United States. This report is designed to help policymakers and the public monitor educational progress. This report contains indicators on the state of education in the United States, from prekindergarten through…