I asked about this a while back before WestView was built. I was hoping maybe they could test it out at the new school. However, I was told this would be a county wide decisions. From what I understood, this system was free to the schools. The parents paid for it when they recharged the kids accounts. There was a minimal fee associated everytime you put money in the account. The good thing about the system was that you could have a family account that you put the money in. The money for field trips, school store items & lunch could be placed in this account. Parents could access the account daily to see if their kids ate snacks or how much money the account had left. Parents would recieve emails when the account started getting low. The emails would save money because staff at school wouldn't have to physically print out the lunch notices, deliver the notices to the teachers & then have teachers deliver the notices to the students parents. I know that not all parents have access to email - so in some cases the letters would still have to be printed like they are today. It just seemed like with all the technology we have available today, this wouldn't be something hard to sell to parents - even it it did cost parent a little extra to recharge the accounts.
It is not 'free' for the all campus network to be in place....the online account system that is used here. and it is strictly for money to be placed on food accounts only (not field trips and such). It would cost Johnston County Schools money to have this in place. It would be a great thing to have without a doubt.
Inthebuff...any left over money was suppose to be appplied to the next year or follow your child over to the middle school, if they were changing over schools.
me either....i know there was money left in my child's account when she left... what does happen to that money?
Pretty sure it didn't follow her, but it wasn't very much and she packed her own lunch every morning for school. After hearing her older sister talk about how much worse the attitude of the cafeteria staff was at the middle school she didn't want to take the chance of having to deal with them, smart girl.
No matter how rude and obnoxious children are, they still need to be fed. That shouldn't even play into this conversation. About the diabetes, I have been one since I was a child, 36 years so I know exactly what can happen when a diabetic child doesn't eat on time and the right number of calories. You need a little compassion.
I have been there. I just don't see such a waste of food necessary. The only alternative they have for children without enough funds is to throw food out. I think the suggestion for on-line tracking is great. My question was, when a child buys lunch isn't a snack on the menu? ( i.e. orange smiles, sherbet, apple, peaches.)
My sons didn't follow him either. Even when he was in the same school. Each year he started out with zero balance.
My concern when originally posting this was for the other children that don't get fed on a daily basis and the way that they have been treated by the lunch staff. Contrary to what some may believe, SOME OF THE LUNCHROOM LADIES ARE HATEFUL. They should not be hateful to a child who has no lunch money and doesn't get to eat REGARDLESS OF HOW SORRY HIS OR HER PARENTS ARE. I have three children (one a godchild) in school now. I have volunteered (and still do) MANY hours over their school careers. My oldest son is 19(graduated from CHS) and my youngest is 12. I have tutored other children as well as helped out in the classrooms. I have been to MANY lunches with my kids. I have observed snappy, hateful lunchroom ladies. Yes, they are underpaid and so are teachers, but that doesn't excuse being hateful to a child. The information about the lettuce, sweet potatoes, and water was also true. Just because rules are in place, doesn't mean that they are followed. My son did fix a lunch only to have it taken and thrown away. He was not given a vegetable tray, but the post ISN'T ABOUT HIM. It's about the kids that don't eat everyday and what can be done to help that situation. I've spoken with some of the teachers and all are aware of children that don't eat. I don't care WHY THEIR PARENTS DON'T SEND MONEY. I just want them to have lunch. NO, it's not my job to take care of other people's kids, but I will sleep better at night knowing that I tried. As far as behavior....... my oldest two sons are AIG as well as my goddaughter. No behavior problems either. My youngest son has never so much as set foot in the office for any type of behavioral problem. He is mannerly and very well behaved. His teachers will support this statement. I have not been in the middle school cafeteria because he is older and it would embarrass him if "mommy came to lunch with him, now." I do proctor for tests, help with pictures, volunteer as needed,...... I am involved in the school. I have worked with afterschool children in a daycare and summer camp setting for 21 years. I'm not just somebody who "doesn't understand how it works" I just think that not feeding the children SHOULDN'T BE THE WAY THAT IT WORKS. I have always supported my children's schools and teachers. They do a great job. The lunch thing isn't their fault. All of the teachers that I have talked with feel pretty much the same. Many do break the rules and slip money to the kids. Several teachers said the same thing- If the kids don't eat at school, they probably don't have anything to eat a home either. In some cases, it may be because they have sorry parents. In other cases, it may be financial. Regardless, there is a child without lunch. I just thought that maybe if a few parents in each class sent an extra snack, lunch, or some spare change that we might feed some of those kids. That's all this post was about. Helping the other kids. My son only missed lunch once out of 7 years of school- he'll be just fine. It's about the other kids that have that problem daily. If you haven't spent time in your kids school. Do it!! The teachers appreciate the help and you get to see what it's like. If you can't go to school because of work, send a note and offer to help with supplies or make copies..... The teachers always need help and support any way they can get it.
So, if he brought his own lunch, why was it taken away? You are so unclear on that. Secondly, I know for a fact that they do give the kids veggies. If there isnt money in the acct. My kid ate veggies a couple of times, didnt kill him. Yes, I didnt know there was no money in the acct but he quickly told me he needed more after a day of veggies. Also, CMS would send home a note if the child was low on money or out of money almost threatening to call social services if you didnt replenish the acct. (unless they ate from home) I think you are way off on how the kids are treated. COME ON. Maybe it was you being mean to them. If you need help with lunches fill one of those reduced rate forms out. Kids with no money are offered to be fed by the county. Sometimes school is the only place they can get a good meal. I am sure the teachers would recognize if a child didnt eat on a daily basis and report it. So if you do not qualify for reduced lunch that means you make ample money to feed your kid. How many children is the county supposed to feed because you forgot to pay? I think all of the children are well fed. Mine doesnt eat sometimes but that was his choice. He was hungry as hell when he got home. Why are you making these lunch ladies seem like the damn devil. UGH. I am sure they put up with a lot of attitude these days from the kids. Give em a break.
There is never an excuse to let a child go hungry or degrade them, especially since most of the time it is out of their control.
I am sure it is the lunch ladys fault, right? I dont think so. No school would just let a kid go hungry, sorry, I just dont believe that. Something to her story is missing. I do NOT believe that the lunch lady went over to a table that the child was at, took a home made lunch away, threw it away and left the child hungry. I just DO NOT believe that...Maybe the bell rung or something. Something is missing to this story. One more thing. When you are in line (I have eaten lunch with my kid at school) there is 100 or more kids trying to get their meals in a timely manner and the lunch ladys dont have time right then to sit there and damn chit chat with everyone. They only have 30 to 40 min for lunch, so excuse them for being rushed (not hateful)
I remembered when my son started middle school, we had given the cafteria a check prior to the start of school. We did not know the exact procedure. They did not apply the money to his account yet so he was embarressed on his first day when they took his lunch away. He was not to upset about it but I was. Jen
Tit4Tat, he didn't have his "homemade" lunch taken, it was the one he got in line......................................
I know I'm writing a book here & I tend to be a little repetitive - but here it goes anyways: My son attends West View Elem. I think they do a great job with the number of kids they see in the cafeteria each day. My son is NEVER hungry. His teacher has commented on this issue a number of times. On most days, my son’s lunch is discarded untouched. I give him an Ensure to drink with his breakfast in efforts to make sure he is getting adequate nutrition. I’m not going to force him to eat when he’s not hungry. However, I have told my son that even if he isn’t hungry that he at least needs to drink something. Sometimes he will buy an extra Gatorade with his lunch. Making it a little difficult to calculate when he will run out of money. I don't care how he spends the money ... I just want to make sure he drinks something ... and because his appetite is so poor during the day ... I'm happy if he eats anything at all. Anytime we have ever run low on money in the past, I always received a letter printed by the cafeteria to let me know the account was getting low. I knew that I would need to send money sometime soon - but I wasn't overly concerned because I had not received a letter saying his account was low. One day my son came through the lunch line. He was just over a quarter short of what he needed to pay for his lunch. His tray was taken away and he was handed a vegetable plate. In addition he was handed a cup so he could get some water from the water fountain. My son didn't want the plate ... he just wanted the drink. He wouldn't take the cup he was given to the water fountain because he didn't want everyone in the cafeteria to know he didn't have money for his lunch. A sympathetic individual working in the cafeteria did offer to chip in the extra change needed for my son to purchase his lunch - but she was told it was against school policy for any employee to lend/donate money to a child who is short on lunch money. My son’s teacher would have know that my son was only interested in was the drink … not the food. However, because of other school related duties, my son’s teacher wasn’t present at lunch with the class when this incident occurred. Two boys in the cafeteria teased my son calling him a "vegetable tray" eater. As harmless is the name calling sounds.. my son was horrified by the teasing & terribly embarrassed by the entire situation. That afternoon I received the letter from the school stating my son was running low on money. Unfortunately, the letter came just a little too late. Apparently, the cafeteria databases had him listed in a different class. Therefore, the letters concerning my son’s balance were being sent to the wrong teacher. The teacher who actually received the cafeteria information concerning my son, didn’t realized that my son’s teacher wasn’t getting the information also. Therefore, she never passed the information along to my son’s teacher. As I said before - my son didn't even want the food ... all he wanted was the drink. He had plenty of money for that. However, the individual working the register took his drink away and gave him the cup. I called the cafeteria and they admitted the database was wrong ... not only in my son's case, but also in many others. They also said that if my son had returned a second time and asked again if he could purchase a drink ... they would have let him buy it? I told them that if he'd already been told "No" once by an adult at school ... that he's been taught the answer is "No". I mentioned my concern at the last West View Advisory Council meeting. I learned that at West View 1) The cafeteria sends a letter to each teacher, every day, listing each child in their classes along with the student's balance. In my son's case, his teacher never noticed that his name wasn't on the list. The teacher receiving the list with my son's name on it never alerted anyone that he wasn't in her class. 2) When funds get low in any student's account, the cafeteria sends a letter to the teacher so it can be passed along to the parents to let them know the lunch account is running low. In my son's case, the letter went to the wrong teacher ... so I never receive notice. 3) Each morning the teachers ask the kids who brought their lunch and who is eating a school lunch. Each morning the teachers check to see if there are any kids with insufficient balances. If those kids didn’t bring a lunch – the teacher is REQUIRED to make an effort to contact the parents using the contact number they have available to ask parents to bring money to the school so they child won’t have to eat a vegetable plate. Because my son name wasn’t on the list at all … no one noticed he had an insufficient balance until he was standing in the cafeteria line having his food tray taken away to be replaced with a vegetable tray and an empty cup. My son has a wonderful teacher. I realize teachers have a ton of stuff to do & keep up with every day. This incident wasn't any one persons fault. It happened for a number of reasons. 1) I DIDN'T MAKE SURE MY SON HAD ENOUGH MONEY IN HIS ACCOUNT 2) There was a problem with the cafeteria databases because the information had to be manually entered just a few days before school started. There were a ton of kids and lots of room for mistakes. 3) The teacher who received my son's information didn't alert anyone 4) My son's teacher didn't realize he wasn't on her lunch list 5) Lots of adults standing around in the cafeteria that day didn't use any common sense that day. They new the database was wrong in my son's case, they new I had not been contacted. He had the money for the drink he wanted. He his tray & drink were taken away & he was handed a cup??? At the beginning of the year I also heard complaints from 2 different 1st grade parents who said that even though their child’s account had been supplied with plenty of money & the child's account was marked so no extra snacks could be purchased ... somehow the money was draining too quickly. After doing some checking, one of these parents learned that another student was accidentally using her child’s account. During the Advisory Council Meeting I asked that 1) A note be sent in the daily Hoot to the teachers to let them know their was a problem with the cafeteria databases and that they should review the lunch list they received daily to make sure everyone in their class was accounted for. If the database had been correct - I would have received a letter and would have funded the account. 2) In kindergarten, at the beginning of the year the students have a tag with their lunch numbers on them. In 1st grade they are expected to know their number. I asked that until the cafeteria staff was familiar with the students, that the cashier ask for both the student's number & their name to make sure the kids were using the correct number. 3) I did offer to give a check to the school to be used if any child’s lunch balance was low. This offer was turned down. I do think West View has a good system in place concerning the lunchroom policy and vegetable trays. I believe the moment the cafeteria realized there was a problem with the database, they should have alerted the teacher … so she could have alerted me. I have been assured that in the future, the following steps will be taken before a vegetable tray is handed to a child 1) A letter is sent home to parents to let them know the balance is low 2) The teacher (who already has a million things to do) calls the numbers she/he has listed as contacts to let parents know if a child is low on money. 3) Only after attempts have been made to contact parents & a letter has been sent home regarding the child’s balance... should a child receive a vegetable tray. In the past, many teachers were pulling money out of their own pockets to pay for kid's lunches. Most of us do what we can to make sure our kids have lunch money ... but there were some parents who day after day allowed the school to continuously pay for their kids' lunches. I think the policy of not allowing others to chip in money was a way of taking the guilt away from the already underpaid teachers so they wouldn't feel responsible for making sure the kids got a regular tray. Unfortunately, it’s usually the same kids who show up without money. In the past, even when notes were sent home to some of these parents saying "I lent your child money for lunch today" from the teacher, some parents not only didn't repay the money ... they let the children's teachers keep on paying. It's a shame that it’s the children who end up getting punished for the wrongs of the parents. However, it is not the school systems job to buy lunches for these kids. The county does offer free & reduced lunches to those families who need it. If the school sends a letter home & calls the parents to let them know a child is out of money ... then after that point it is the PARENTS fault, not the schools fault if their child gets a vegetable tray. I don't know if all schools have the same policies as West View. Even though my son slipped through the cracks once this year ... I know that in most cases, the system works. I think in our case, school had only been in session for a couple of weeks and they had not had a chance to get the kinks out of the system yet. As I said before, I think overall - West View does a wonderful job with the kids!!!
Ok well the lunch lady went over there and only took this one kids lunch away right? Does this sound real to you? Just wondering with the most respect. No disrespect intended. k?
It sounded to me like her child went through the lunch line as he normally would and filled his tray with food, but when he got to the "lunchlady" cashier she informed him that he didn't have $$ in his account, took the unpaid-for tray of food and dumped it because he wasn't per policy allowed to eat it and they most likely are not allowed to put it back after the child has self-served his food, and then it sounded like the lunchlady also did not allow him to get the veggie lunch he should have been entitled to per school policy. That's how I read it.
