Deer Lakes principal recognized for healthy school breakfast initiatives

A Deer Lakes School District principal is being recognized for her efforts to make sure students are eating a healthy breakfast every day.

Jennifer Cavalancia, principal at Curtisville Primary Center, was named as a 2019 Pennsylvania School Breakfast Hero, sponsored by the No Kid Hungry campaign.

Cavalancia said in a news release that Curtisville’s school breakfast program has succeeded because it is a buildingwide wellness initiative.

“We have an amazingly committed staff and everyone is on the same page with regard to the value of wellness as it relates to student achievement,” she said.

Curtisville made student wellness a priority by including lessons on healthy eating, free samples of healthier foods, flexible scheduling and allowing students to bring their unfinished breakfasts to class with them.

“For us, it just comes down to the fact that we want our students to be successful in everything they do, every single day, and that starts with making healthy choices during breakfast, which we hope can carry over to making good choices throughout the day and ultimately, throughout their lives,” she said.

Other wellness initiatives include an outdoor fruit orchard, an indoor tower garden, a kinesthetic lab to encourage students to move around as they learn, and a walk in the hallway before school starts each Friday.

Cavalancia was nominated for the award by Deer Lakes Superintendent Janell Logue-Belden.

“Jennifer Cavalancia is such a caring and invested building administrator and she’s an inspiring example for our students, their families and our staff,” Logue-Belden said.