Lacy Elementary School Cafeteria Summary

Lacy Elementary School Cafeteria

Summary of observations

Student characteristics, issues and factors

Students have a tendency of entering the cafeteria through the exterior door. Only a portion of students are orderly and enters the cafeteria through the front doors and directly proceeds for breakfast. Use of the exterior entrance to the cafeteria causes disorder during breakfasts. Students are notably quiet during morning hours and complete their homework after taking breakfast. Students' calmness and orderly behavior during breakfast is appreciable. Supervision of students every morning requires two paraprofessionals and an administrator. Students take their lunch between half past eleven and a quarter to one during the day. Lunch consists of two sessions. Supervision during lunch hours requires three paraprofessionals and an equal number of parents. Two administrators should be present to oversee the supervision during lunch since the session is always noisy and crowded. Students are sometimes disorderly during lunch hours; some wander from one point to another. A few students also opt to undertake their assignments during lunch. This is promotes congestion in the cafeteria and students take long to get back to their classrooms.

Teacher/staff characteristics, issues and factors.

Teachers at the school should report by quarter past eight, every morning, before school begins. However, there are reported cases of lateness in teachers reporting to school. Teacher assistants earn from offering supervision services to students before and after learning sessions. This motivates them to provide such essential services. During lunch, teachers may opt to stay at the campus or leave to take lunch outside campus. Most teachers choose to take lunch outside the campus or inside classrooms. Administrators control students' access to the restroom. Teachers' response to undesirable student behavior during meals is effective. However, there are few teachers to supervise the students.

Environmental characteristics, issues and factors-physical plant and logistics

Lacy Elementary School accommodates a higher population of students than its recommended enrollment capacity. It had recommended enrollment student population of 500 but that it is currently at 650 students. The cafeteria has inadequate resources as fold-up tables and seats to accommodate the population of students especially during lunch. Students have to make long queues during lunch hours and can spend approximately twenty minutes to get served. Students pick up trash during the exchange between the first session and the next. Second session students find the tables untidy because of trash and garbage. Traffic congestion at the door when students leave the cafeteria is a notable concern. Students use only one exit point and tend to push for space. Some students also risk when they run back to their classrooms.

Incentives and consequences

Supervision during breakfast is the mandate of only two paraprofessionals, against a high population of students. They get assistance from members of the school's PTA who perform as volunteers to supervise during breakfasts. In some instances, the principal and the assistant alternate to undertake the supervisory role during breakfasts. Their roles are commendable since it is a sign of staff dedication. According to Morecock et al., 2009, staff dedication is essential for the success of all programs. Few incentives offered to paraprofessionals reduce their urge to undertake their supervisory roles.

Resources

Lacy Elementary School cafeteria serves most of the 650 students with federal breakfast and lunch. Students take their breakfast at half past seven; one hour before school commences. Although there are fold-up tables in the cafeteria, seats are insufficient. Only three hundred seats attached to the fold-up tables are functional. The population of students taking lunch is approximately three hundred and twenty five. This requires extra chairs brought in to accommodate all students. There is always a scramble by students to find seats during lunch sessions. At some instance, students push and shove to find space in the cafeteria. Students experience difficulties to access the restroom for use. The administrators in charge are, in most instances, strict on students and demand for identification documents as an allowance for students to use the restroom. Students who forget their documents can rarely use the restroom.

Recommendations/action plan for improvement

Cafeteria improvement in Lacy Elementary School would help keep it calm, orderly, safe and well managed. Improvement initiatives also help address the various causes of management or behavioral problems. School administrators should undertake initiatives to transform students' behavior while in the cafeteria. All students should enter the cafeteria through the front door. This would create orderliness during breakfast. Expansion of the infrastructure in the cafeteria is important to accommodate many students in every session during lunch. Such expansion would reduce the time allocated for lunch break by half. Apparently, students taking their lunch on the second session find the tables unclean. Improving supervision of students during lunch is important to create orderliness. This discourages students wandering from one table to the other. Students undertaking their assignments during lunch should leave space for others who miss seats.

Teachers should report early to school to help in the supervision of students during breakfast. All teachers should have their lunch inside the campus to ensure they have time for supervision of the conduct of students while at the cafeteria. Students should have unrestricted access to the restroom to ease congestion at the cafeteria. Deployment of more paraprofessionals to supervise students during lunch at the cafeteria.

Lacy elementary school management should limit enrollment to the number that the cafeteria can accommodate. Over enrollment of students in the school poses a challenge of overcrowding in the cafeteria. Any increase in enrollment should only occur after expansion of facilities to accommodate the added student population (Kowalski, 2002). An increase in the number of fold-up tables and seats in the cafeteria should form part of the improvement plan. This would reduce the time spent by students while waiting for extra chairs during lunch. Adequate fold-up tables also ensure high levels of hygiene because students do not share facilities. Students should use two exit points when leaving the cafeteria to avoid congestion.