Nothing is worse than trying to survive a half-day of school on a measly granola bar, so Woodland has implemented a significant change to the half-day schedules: the mandatory availability of lunch for all students. The policy shift is in response to new state-level legislation from the Connecticut General Statutes § 10-221o ensuring that students have the option to receive a meal, even when the school day is shortened. Assistant Principal Ryan Mackenzie, who assisted in the implementation process, explained that the focus is on equity and student well-being, particularly for those with long commutes or busy schedules.
“The key for us is about opportunity. You might have to get on the bus at 5:45 in the morning, and you may have after-school activities, so you aren’t getting home until late,” said Mackenzie. “We want to make sure we are giving the opportunity to all students to have lunch during the day and keep them fueled up.”
Initial concerns about the impact on learning time were addressed through careful planning. While the lunch block was initially projected to cut five minutes from each class, revisions have minimized the loss.
“We found a way to only take about one or two minutes off of each class,” Mackenzie explained. “The typical class time on a regular half-day schedule before the change was about 57 minutes. Now, after the change, the class times are about 56 or 55 minutes, so there is minimal change.”
The new half-day schedule reserves ten minutes at the end of the school day for students to grab lunch before buses leave at 11:20 am.
The lunches will take the form of “grab-and-go” options, varying based on what the school’s lunch service provides.
“The grab-and-go lunches will change according to what lunch service provides us. I think it would be funny if they gave students pizza crunchers in a grab-and-go bag for every half-day lunch because students love them so much. I doubt that would happen, but it would make everyone in the school a happy person,” Mackenzie chuckled.
