Family & Community Students & Families Student Support, Career & Education
Nutrition, Health and Safety

Introduction | Video Clips | Sessions | Agenda | Panel Discussion | Breakfast Resources

Commissioner of Education, David P. Driscoll, Opening Remarks

Commissioner Driscoll welcomed approximately 300 school personnel, including school foodservice directors, principals, superintendents, health educators, teachers and school nurses to the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education's annual School Breakfast Symposium held on February 1, 2001. This year's theme "Supporting Learning Through Nutrition," was an opportunity to highlight current research confirming the benefits of a nutritious breakfast to academic performance. Participants started their morning, ready to learn, after consuming a School Breakfast, featuring popular menu items found in school dining rooms throughout the Commonwealth.

Recognizing the importance of breakfast and it's connection to improved educational outcomes, Commissioner Driscoll is committed to ensuring that every Massachusetts student begins the school day with a nutritious meal at home or through the School Breakfast Program. Last fall, in continued support of the School Breakfast Program, Commissioner Driscoll launched a Superintendents' School Breakfast Campaign to highlight the program's importance and provide models for schools to use.

We encourage you to utilize the information provided during this symposium to support the successful implementation of school breakfast programs throughout the Commonwealth.

Doris Dorelian, PhD, RD,
Keynote Speaker

Dr. Derelian has a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology, Learning and Instruction from the University of California at Irvine, and a Master of Science in Nutrition Sciences. She is a Registered Dietitian, and expects to earn a law degree this year.

She has held many positions in the California Dietetic Association and nationally in the American Dietetic Association, including serving as president from 1994-1996. She is internationally renown for her expertise on a variety of nutrition topics. As president of Health Professions Training, she consults with more than 300 organizations on nutrition, chronic disease management, program evaluation, child nutrition and learning, teaching methods, and statistics.

Dr. Derelian&146;s research on the correlation between breakfast intake and classroom attention has received national recognition. Her interest in the effects of nutrition on learning is currently demonstrated by her work as the co-chair of the American Dietetic Association&146;s "Child Nutrition and Health Campaign."

"Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Breakfast readies children for classroom demands of attention and learning. Regardless of socio-economic status, children who do not eat adequately experience "transient hunger" which can be corrected only by eating. Students require nutrients and energy for concentration on academic tasks, especially those demanding problem solving and creativity. Breakfast can provide those nutritional necessities and prevent symptoms such as headache, fatigue, restlessness and sleepiness from competing with educational outcomes. We have perhaps always known that breakfast is the most important meal, especially for children, now we have the research to prove it."

-Abstract, Better Breakfast, Better Learning, Doris Derelian