SPRINGDALE — Some administrators said they already are seeing benefits from Breakfast in the Classroom, implemented earlier this month at five Springdale elementary schools.

The program provides free breakfasts to all students in the building, regardless of whether their economic status qualifies them for free or reduced-price meals. The students eat with their teachers in their respective classrooms.

The district launched the program Dec. 3 with Bayyari, Elmdale, Jones, Lee and Parson Hills elementary schools participating.

“Overall it’s gone really well,” said Carol Godfrey, the district’s food service director.

Bayyari and Lee have seen significant reductions in tardiness, Godfrey said, in part because students are eager to get to school and eat. Breakfast is served first thing in the morning.

At least some of the participating schools are seeing fewer students reporting headaches or stomach aches attributed to hunger, Godfrey said.

“So we’re seeing some real positive things already,” she said.

The main idea behind Breakfast in the Classroom is to encourage more children to eat a nutritious breakfast so they are better able to focus on learning. From a social standpoint, it also promotes bonding between kids and teachers because they are sharing a meal together.

Springdale is the second district in Arkansas, after Little Rock, to participate in the program, which is funded directly by the Walmart Foundation. The Walmart Foundation funds Breakfast in the Classroom programs in more than 14 states.

Justin Swope, principal of Lee Elementary, said starting at 7:45 a.m., Lee students pick up their food from designated points in the building, then carry it back to their classrooms. That process takes less than 10 minutes. They’re finished eating by 8:10 a.m. each day.

“I have noticed fewer tardies, so that is a definite plus,” Swope said. “Also I’ve heard from teachers who say they’ve had fewer kids coming to them before lunch telling them they’re hungry.”

Martha Walker, principal at Bayyari, said her school has had a similar experience. Tardies at Bayyari have been reduced from about 25 per day to five per day and hunger complaints practically have been eliminated. The school serves about 610 breakfasts per day, up from a previous average of about 250 per day.

The kids are not forced to take breakfast, but so far no Bayyari student has turned one down, Walker said.

The breakfasts consist of different items each day but always include milk and a serving of fresh fruit.

“If all they do is drink the milk and eat the fruit, they’ve had something nutritional,” Walker said.

The district is keeping data at each school on such things as tardiness, absences, nurse visits and behavioral issues in order to track Breakfast in the Classroom’s effectiveness. Eventually test scores also will be considered, Godfrey said.

Because of Breakfast in the Classroom, the five elementary schools are serving a lot more breakfasts than they were before. Before the program was implemented, about 47 percent of students at the five schools were getting breakfast. Now it’s well over 90 percent. A part-time worker has been hired at each school to help out.

“We’ve learned it’s a lot of work,” Godfrey said. “It is very time-consuming, very labor-intense. Especially with the fresh fruit we’re having to prepare, and we have to sack everything up and get it ready ahead of breakfast the next day. It’s taking more time and labor than we originally thought. But we’re still learning. I can see where we may be able to fine-tune some of that labor.”

Parson Hills Elementary has not seen the reduction in tardies that Lee and Bayyari have, but teachers and administrators there still love the program, said Principal Debbie Hardwick-Smith.

“There is a beginning of the day that feels more like a family atmosphere,” Hardwick-Smith said. “That, in the long run or even the short run, has to be a positive for the kids.”