Lighthouse Elementary School in Jupiter is once again letting students snack in the classroom, but the decision to have snack time is up to each teacher.
The principal at Lighthouse Elementary met with teachers Thursday, telling them they can decide whether or not they want their students to eat snacks from home in their classrooms.
“Very, very happy. I think it’s a great idea,” said Michelle Milsom, whose son attends kindergarten at Lighthouse Elementary. “It will make my son happy. You just don’t want any cranky kids.”
The school had tried out a “no snack” policy this first week of school to see how it would go.
In email responses to concerned parents, the principal had said the snacks were causing students to waste their lunches and they were also taking time away from learning, which is why the school decided to try out not having snack time.
A school district spokesperson said snack time was taking up to 30 minutes and students would bring in messy snacks, such as fruit cups and yogurts.
Food allergies were cited as another reason for the “no snack” policy.
Milsom’s son’s kindergarten class doesn’t eat lunch until noon. They get to school by 8 a.m.
“I was a little bit upset because I think from 8 to 12, it’s a long stretch, especially five-year-olds, not having a snack,” she said. “And sometimes when kids wake up in the morning, they don’t always want to eat a full breakfast.”
Even though the district said there were no issues this past week, teachers will tell their own classes if they’re allowing snacks.
The snack time in those cases will be limited along with the types of food children can bring. Examples of permitted food are small apples, bananas, cups of berries, goldfish and pretzels.
Teachers and the principal had snacks available this past week for students who were hungry. Snacks for the students who need them will remain at the office.