Today, Share Our Strength has released its’ 2012 survey of America’s teachers reporting on their experiences with hunger in the classroom.

About the Teachers Report
The annual teachers report is a survey of public school teachers from around the nation about the hunger they see in their classrooms as well as their thoughts on solutions. Just a few of the findings:
— A majority of teachers say “most” or “a lot” of their students rely on school meals as their primary source of nutrition.
— More than 75% of teachers say that the U.S. should make childhood hunger a “top” or “high” priority
— A majority of teachers say they have kids in their classes who regularly come to school hungry. 80% of those who see hungry kids say these children are coming to school hungry at least once a week.
— More than 8 in 10 teachers say breakfast helps students concentrate, contributes to better academic performance and leads to healthier students with fewer headaches and fewer stomach aches.

Bottom Line: Teachers say kids are hungry and breakfast works.

More from the Teacher’s Survey:

• Childhood hunger remains a serious issue for public schools.
  • Six in ten K-8 public school teachers say that students regularly come to school hungry because they are not getting enough to eat at home.
  • More specifically, among those teachers, 80% say that these children are coming to school hungry one or more times each week.
  • A majority of teachers say that most or a lot of their students rely on school meals as their primary source of nutrition.
  • A majority of teachers who see hunger as a problem believe that the problem is growing.
  • While funding cuts and discipline are teachers’ top concerns, hunger in the classroom is also concerning for many. Four in ten K-8 teachers call it a serious problem (6-10 on a ten-point scale).
  • Concern about student hunger is more severe among teachers serving low-income areas, those with a large proportion of minority students, and those in the South (particularly Arkansas).
  • Female, younger, less experienced teachers, and those teaching elementary school are more likely than their counterparts to express concern for students struggling with hunger.
  • On most measures, there has been little change in attitudes toward the size of the problem of hunger in the classroom over the last several years.

Hunger in the classroom: Causes and effects

• Teachers identify a host of consequences of hunger in the classroom and worry about the causes.
• When asked generally to write about the issues they see with hunger in the classroom, most teachers focus on the impact on the individual student.
• Teachers are most likely to mention an inability to concentrate, poor academic performance, behavior problems, and health problems like head and stomachaches.
• Teachers identify instability at home as the primary cause of children coming to school hungry, but also consider a variety of other factors as key contributors such as breakfast not being a priority, no one being home to prepare breakfast, and not being able to afford enough food for the family.

Addressing hunger: Solutions

• Many public school teachers take steps to address hunger on their own and believe that schools can do a lot to contribute to a solution.
• More than three-quarters of K-8 teachers say that nationally it should be a top or high priority to address hunger in our schools. Two-thirds say the same for their local area.
• Teachers report taking actions such as helping students and parents sign up for programs and providing food in the classroom themselves.
• At the school level, teachers suggest providing breakfast for all students, offering healthy meals, and providing afternoon snacks to combat hunger.

Addressing hunger: Breakfast programs

• School breakfast programs are viewed as an essential tool for addressing hunger and are widespread across the country.
• Nine in ten teachers agree that breakfast is extremely or very important for academic achievement.
• More than eight in ten say that breakfast helps students concentrate, contributes to better academic performance, and leads to healthier students with fewer headaches and stomachaches.
• Nine in ten teachers report that there is some kind of breakfast program in place at their school, a majority of which are available to all students and are served in a cafeteria.

• While breakfast programs are present in most schools, teachers identify significant barriers to many students taking advantage and support most ideas for improving participation.
  • Large majorities identify students not liking the food served, students not getting to school early enough, and students preferring to spend the time before school socializing or playing with friends rather than eating. Most consider these minor obstacles rather than major ones.
  • Majorities support increasing communication with parents about programs, reducing the red tape to be part of programs, making breakfast available to all free of charge, and encouraging all students to eat breakfast at school.
• School lunch and breakfast programs are nearly universal at public schools in most of the country. Other wrap-around programs are less common, though most teachers believe they are another important tool to keep their students healthy.
  • Two in ten teachers report that their schools participate in each of the following:
    • Summer food programs
    • Afterschool snack programs
    • Weekend backpack programs
    • Fresh fruit and vegetable programs
  • Seven in ten teachers believe that their schools should participate in programs to provide meals during the summer and snacks after school.
  • A large majority of teachers (72%) is at least somewhat concerned about their students getting enough to eat during the summer months, and more than three-quarters believe that a summer meals program would be helpful in addressing this problem.
• Majorities of K-8 teachers are at least somewhat likely to get involved in promoting meal programs in their schools.
  • Eight in ten teachers are likely to communicate with parents about the programs offered.
  • Majorities are at least somewhat likely to lobby their elected officials and school districts about improving access to programs.