NYC Public Schools Research Articles

Depolicing Schools

During this moment of nation-wide opposition to police killings of Black men and women, Norm Fruchter considers the impact of ending two longstanding NYC public school security policies–the NYPD’s control of the city’s School Security Agents and the imposition of metal detectors in selected city schools.

When Participatory Budgeting (PB) funds schools, who benefits? An equity analysis of PB-associated investments in NYC public schools

ABSTRACT Equity goals have shaped participatory budgeting (PB) in North America, but little is known about their impact on PB allocations. Focusing on New York City (PBNYC), this paper examines whether PB-associated increases in public school investments have benefited higher needs students. The paper proposes a model of three key project decision-points in a PB process and examines equity at each: project development, vote, and final budget allocation. Across three PBNYC cycles, analyses confirm the use of two potentially equity advancing tactics during project development: equity descriptors were found for 7.2% of school-related ballot items; and bundling described 33.9% of school-related ballot items. Both tactics were associated with winning PB votes. However, in those years, PB-funded school projects did not benefit higher (or lower) needs students compared to school projects council members funded on their own discretion. Interviews with PB volunteers support these findings and highlight diverse assessments of need and equity.

Long-Term Exposure to Neighborhood Policing and the Racial/Ethnic Gap in High School Graduation.

Researchers are increasingly exploring the consequences of policing for the educational outcomes of minority youth. This study contributes to this literature by asking three questions. First, what are racial/ethnic disparities in long-term exposure to neighborhood policing? Second, how does this exposure affect high school graduation? Third, how much of the ethnoracial gap in high school graduation would remain if neighborhood policing was equalized? To address these questions, we use data from the New York City Department of Education and follow five cohorts of NYC public school students from middle to high school. Our findings reveal starkly different experiences with neighborhood policing across racial/ethnic groups. Using novel methods for time-varying treatment effects, we find that long-term exposure to neighborhood policing has negative effects on high school graduation, with important differences across racial/ethnic groups. Using gap-closing estimands, we show that assigning a sample of Black and Latino students to the same level of neighborhood policing as White students would close the Black-White gap in high school graduation by more than one quarter and the Latino-White gap by almost one fifth. Alternatively, we explore interventions where policing is solely a function of violent crime, which close the Black-White gap by as much as one tenth. Our study advances previous research by focusing on cumulative, long-term exposure to neighborhood policing and by assessing various counterfactual scenarios that inform research and policy.

You are who you eat with: Academic peer effects from school lunch lines

Using daily lunch transaction data from NYC public schools, I determine which students frequently stand next to one another in the lunch line. I use this ‘revealed’ friendship network to estimate academic peer effects in elementary school classrooms, improving on previous work by defining not only where social connections exist, but the relative strength of these connections. Equally weighting all peers in a reference group assumes that all peers are equally important and may bias estimates by underweighting important peers and overweighting unimportant peers. I find that students who eat together are important influencers of one another’s academic performance, with stronger effects in math than in reading. Further exploration of the mechanisms supports my claim that these are friendship networks. I also compare the influence of friends from different periods in the school year and find that connections occurring around standardized testing dates are most influential on test scores.

Qualitative Study of Participation Facilitators and Barriers for Emergency School Meals and Pandemic Electronic Benefits (P-EBT) in an Urban Setting during COVID-19.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, significantly fewer of New York City’s (NYC’s) 1.1 million public school children participated in emergency grab-and-go meals—heightening the risk of inadequate nutrition security for many of NYC’s most vulnerable residents. This study sought to examine student families’ facilitators and barriers to participation in the grab-and-go meal service and their experiences with pandemic-electronic benefit transfer (P-EBT) funds, a cash benefit distributed when schools were closed. We recruited 126 parents of children in NYC public schools who had participated in the grab-and-go service. Using opened-ended questions, we interviewed 101 parents in 25 1-h online focus groups. We identified four main themes which broadly impacted school meal participation: communication, logistics, meal appeal, and personal circumstances. Key facilitating subthemes included clear communication, ease of accessing sites, and high variety. Key sub-themes negatively impacting participation included limited communication and low meal variety. Accurate, timely communication; easily accessible distribution locations; and convenient distribution times could have increased participation and satisfaction. For P-EBT, parents welcomed the funds and used them readily, but some experienced difficulties obtaining payments. The simultaneous inclusion of community-based research in the evaluation of emergency feeding programs could improve future outcomes for school meal participation and electronic benefits.

The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene School Vision Program: A description of program expansion.

ObjectiveThis study describes how the School Vision Program (SVP) operates in NYC Public Schools, and how it has expanded to provide screening, follow-up, eye exams, and even glasses to more students in recent years.MethodsUsing administrative data from the SVP, we analyze a population sample of all public-school students with non-missing demographic variables in grades Pre-K through 12, focusing on the most recent year of data, 2018–19. We tabulate rates of screening and other results across students by grade and student characteristics, highlighting the expansion of SVP in community schools beginning in 2015–16.ResultsThe SVP screens about 87% of students in Pre-K through 1st Grade each school year. Of the 22% of screened students who failed the screening in 2018–19, 69% received follow-up efforts, and 39% completed eye exams. Among students with completed eye exams, 13% of students in Pre-K through 1st grade were diagnosed with amblyopia, and 70% needed glasses. Less advantaged students in terms of race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status were less likely to pass vision screenings and less likely to receive eye exams after failing the screening. The SVP’s expansion to all grades in community schools and its provision of eye exams and glasses increased the rate of eye exams to 90% of students with a failed vision screening and distributed glasses to over 22,000 students in grades Pre-K to 12 in 2018–19.ConclusionThe expansion of SVP services in community schools suggests large potential benefits from school districts connecting students who fail vision screenings directly to eye doctors. Otherwise, low rates of follow-up eye exams in younger grades can lead to unidentified and unmet need for vision services in older grades, especially among disadvantaged students.

I Don't Know If the Plane Has Really Landed: Flanbwayan Members on the Challenges, Omissions, and Potential of Culturally Responsive, Sustaining Education in NYC Public Schools

This interview centers the voices of four Black women of immigrant origin, all of them members of the Flanbwayan Haitian Literacy Project, a community-based organization formed 15 years ago in New York City to promote cultural pride and biliteracy in newcomer youth. In this paper, two administrators and two youth participants are in conversation with each other as they reflect on their cross-generational experiences with culturally responsive and sustaining education in schools, share models of welcoming and culturally sustaining school cultures, and offer advice to educators on the types of dispositions and knowledge required to implement this education model with fidelity. They share the particular challenges they experienced as emergent bilingual students in their online learning classes, their concerns for the remainder of the year, and their hopes for the future.

Reframing School Culture through Project-Based Assessment Tasks: Cultivating Transformative Agency and Humanizing Practices in NYC Public Schools

Background/Context In the last two decades, high-stakes testing policies have proliferated exponentially, radically altering the broader educational landscape in the United States. Although these policies continue to dominate educational reform agendas, researchers argue that they have not improved educational outcomes for youth and have exacerbated inequities in schooling across racial, economic, geographic, and linguistic lines. Alternative project-based assessments, like ones used by the New York Performance Standards Consortium (Consortium) are one type of practice to have shown promise in aiding in the creation of humanizing and transformative educational spaces. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study This article examines how teachers and students make meaning of their experiences transitioning away from high-stakes standardized tests to project-based assessment tasks (PBATs) and specifically considers the role that PBATs might play in shaping school culture. Drawing from three years of data collection at 10 New York City public high schools new to the Consortium, we discern how students and teachers negotiate this shift, paying attention to the ways in which PBATs fostered transformative and humanizing pedagogies and practices. We raise the following questions: How can schools that use project-based assessment reinvigorate school culture to address enduring inequities that persist in schools? How might PBATs reframe schools to be more humanizing and transformative spaces? Research Design We used multiple methods to understand how project-based assessment shapes school culture and curriculum in these transitioning schools, and drew from qualitative and quantitative traditions. The research involved: (1) a historical inquiry into the role of the Consortium in school reform; (2) a broad investigation of the 10 schools transitioning into the Consortium (including three rounds of annual surveys with teachers and administrators); (3) three in-depth focal case studies of transitioning schools (including observations, interviews with teachers, and surveys with students); and (4) surveys with experienced teachers new to established Consortium schools. Conclusions PBATs are a useful tool to engage students and teachers more actively as participatory actors in the school environment, particularly when overall school structures collectively support its integration. Although there were inevitable challenges in the process of transition, our data suggest that the school actors mediated some of these tensions and ultimately felt that PBATs helped create more dignified spaces for youth. By anchoring the assessment process in the concept of transformative agency, we consider how the transition to PBATs might reinvigorate school culture, redress harmful systemic injustices, and serve as a necessary part of school reform and education policy.

An Assessment of the Effects of Halal, Kosher, and Vegetarian Food Options in NYC Public Schools

An Assessment of the Effects of Halal, Kosher, and Vegetarian Food Options in NYC Public Schools

The Gay Teachers Association of NYC and LGB Students: 1974–1985

Background/Context This study deals with an intersection of educational history, queer history, and labor history involving the activities of lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) teachers. The history of LGBT teachers, particularly before the 1990s, has been addressed by only a handful of historians. The prior research most relevant to this study is Jackie Blount's Fit to Teach: Same-Sex Desire, Gender, and School Work in the Twentieth Century (2006) and Karen Graves's And They Were Wonderful Teachers (2009). Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study This study focuses on the activities of the Gay Teachers Association of New York City (GTA) between 1974 and 1985 as they related to teachers’ job security and the safety of LGB students in NYC public schools. It aims to illustrate the sense of responsibility toward LGB students developed by members of the GTA and how they acted on that responsibility. Research Design This is a historical study, relying primarily on archival research and secondarily on interviews conducted by the author. Conclusions/Recommendations The teachers of the GTA developed a comprehensive concept of their responsibility as LGB educators. They came to believe that they had a particular responsibility to LGB students. Finally, GTA members actively pursued equity for LGB students in New York City's public schools through counseling, community outreach, political lobbying, and public debate.

Expanding and Enhancing Food and Nutrition Education in New York City Public Schools: An Examination of Program Characteristics and Distribution.

To expand their capacity, many schools partner with food and nutrition education programs (FNPs). Public policies and funding can support FNPs, but comprehensive data on the organizations that run FNPs, their program characteristics, or distribution across schools did not exist in NYC. This study aims to help local education and health agencies assess the characteristics of food and nutrition education in schools, as well as to measure progress implementing school policies and practices. A cross-sectional study on NYC FNPs was conducted during the 2016–2017 school year. Survey data on organizations and the FNPs they operate were collected. Data on schools in which FNPs operate were gathered. To determine distribution of FNPs across schools and by school demographics, the database of FNPs in schools was combined with a publicly available database of NYC schools. In 2016–2017, 40 organizations operated 101 FNPs in 56% of NYC public schools. These FNPs varied by goals, content, activities, location, and populations served. Information on these variations can help policymakers, advocates, funders, and schools expand school-based food and nutrition education. To ensure equitable access, more coordination, investment, and collaboration are needed.

Harlem's ‘motherwork’ post-Brown: implications for urban school leaders

ABSTRACT The recent calls to desegregate New York City's public schools reify the fact that equity, social justice, and access to meaningful schooling continue to be a significant problem for Black and Hispanic children and their families, especially those who reside in urban communities. In this historiography I utilise a Black feminist perspective to explore how Harlem's mothers desegregated NYC's public schools after the landmark school desegregation ruling. The mothers’ advocacy and efforts embodied the concept of motherwork, an attribute that is often unrecognised by school leaders. Implications are offered to urge urban school leaders to reimagine best practices and the function of parent involvement and community engagement in their respective school-communities.

Geography of music access, race, and SES in NYC public schools: public vs. charter

This study explores segregation and privatization in NYC public schools through the lens of early childhood music education. On a macro level (district/citywide), this article compares access to music in charter schools and traditional public schools serving kindergarten through third grade (K-3) and examines how different socio-demographic factors related to the presence of music instruction in both sets of schools. Quantitative and geographic analyses indicate that charter schools and traditional public schools offered early childhood music programs at comparable rates and that the prevalence of music correlated with school size. However, when accounting for music instruction by non-certified school-based staff, traditional public schools were significantly more likely to provide K-3 music than their charter school counterparts. Notably, the socioeconomic status (vis-à-vis PTA contributions) and racial composition of schools correlated with the presence of music in traditional public schools, but no such correlations could be established for charter schools, which, in NYC, are predominantly located in communities of color with higher rates of poverty. In NYC, despite state mandates to provide instruction in all arts domains, lack of access to early childhood music instruction seems predicated on the unintended consequences of PTA funding and the expanding charter school movement.

Factors that challenge English learners and increase their dropout rates: recommendations from the field

ABSTRACT This descriptive study surveyed the perceptions of teachers, counselors, and administrators on issues pertaining to school services and academic and instructional challenges of English Learners (ELs) in NYC public high schools. This study attempted to identify factors that increase the dropout rate of high school English learners. In addition, this study sought to identify school services, if any, provided to ELs that improve academic and learning success. A list of recommendations is provided for all stakeholders.

Showing Up: Disparities in Chronic Absenteeism between Students with and without Disabilities in Traditional Public Schools

Background While chronic absenteeism hurts all students, one particularly vulnerable group, students with disabilities (SWDs), has received little attention in research or policy. Particularly troubling is the dearth of research into the patterns of absences for SWDs and GENs who attend school together in urban school systems, given relatively higher absenteeism when compared to suburban and rural districts. Research Questions First, how do rates of chronic absenteeism compare between SWDs and students without disabilities (GENs) attending the same schools (hereafter traditional schools)? Second, are there differences between SWDs who are educated in “GEN-majority” classrooms and those educated in “SWD-majority” classrooms? Finally, do these patterns differ for students with different disabilities? Subjects Our study consists of GENs and SWDs in grades 1–6 who attended a traditional NYC public school between 2006 and 2012. Our sample includes 653,736 students across 37,867 classrooms, and 1,148 public elementary schools. Measures include race/ethnicity, gender, age, foreign-born status, limited English proficiency, free/reduced price lunch eligibility, grade level, classroom ID, school ID, the number of days each student was absent, and the total number of school days each student was registered in the district. For SWDs, the data include indicators for the thirteen disability classifications defined under IDEA and a primary assigned special education setting. Research Design We begin with a baseline model, where being chronically absent (i.e., missing 10% or more of the school year) is regressed on an indicator for being a SWD, controlling for grade and year. We build on this model by first including demographic control variables, then school fixed effects, and finally classroom fixed effects. We then explore this model for differences by type of classroom setting as well as by type of disability. Findings Chronic absenteeism is considerably higher for SWDs than GENs in traditional schools, and there is important heterogeneity by disability classifications. Specifically, students with emotional disturbances exhibit extremely high rates of chronic absenteeism and the largest group of SWDs, students with learning disabilities, have quite high rates as well. Further, SWDs in GEN-majority classrooms are less likely to be chronically absent than those in SWD-majority classrooms, again with variation by disability. Conclusions As the nationwide trend of providing SWDs with more education in GEN-majority classrooms continues to press forward, our study shows that increasingly GEN-majority settings are associated with fewer absences for SWDs. And while school attendance, among other non-achievement outcomes, are not the primary focus of IDEA, our findings point to how some school settings might be beneficial to some but put others at risk.

Outside Connections Matter: Reflections on the College Choice Process for Gifted Black Students from New York City

Through the reflections of 17 Black adults (10 male, 7 female) who were formally identified as gifted as children in NYC Public schools, this study explores their college selection process. Moreover, we investigate how being in gifted and talented programs influenced the support they received while looking at colleges and how this influenced their college selection. Using Hossler and Gallagher's Three-Phase Model for Student College Choice and social and cultural capital as theoretical lenses, findings suggest that the participants did not see much support from their college counselors; rather, they relied on other people and programs to facilitate their college applications and college selection decisions. Moreover, participants college choice decisions were heavily influenced by their belief that the college was an intellectually and socially affirming space. We provide implications for NYC public schools specifically, K-12 generally, and higher education.

P90 - Wellness in the Schools (WITS): Evaluating a Program that Promotes Healthy School Lunch and Active Recess

Background (Background, Rationale, Prior Research, and/or Theory): A positive school lunch and recess experience promotes healthy behaviors. Objective: To evaluate the two-year impact of WITS programming on school lunch consumption, physical activity levels, and pro-social behaviors at recess. Study Design, Setting, Participants, Intervention: Quasi-experimental, matched-control study in 14 NYC public elementary schools with second and third graders. WITS programming provides scratch-cooked, less processed school lunch and organized activities at recess by placing trained chefs and coaches in the school. Outcome Measures and Analysis: School lunch consumption, as well as physical activity and pro-social behaviors at outdoor and indoor recess, were measured using standardized tools and protocols. Data were collected at three time points (no baseline): Time 0 (early intervention), Time 1 (one school year post intervention) and Time 2 (two school years post intervention) and compared using Repeated Measures Analysis of Variance. Results: For school lunch consumption, there were early intervention effects. Students in the WITS schools ate more vegetables and fruit at Time 0 than students in control schools (.27 cups vs. .18 cups, P < .05), with the same differences found at Time 1 and Time 2. However, students in WITS schools ate less entrée (42% of portion versus 46%, P < .05) and drank less milk (29% of portion versus 38%, P < .05) at Time 0, with these differences also remaining through Time 2. Outdoor recess had no difference in physical activity levels. Indoor recess had a higher percentage of WITS students vigorously active (46% vs. 3% at Time 1, P < .05; 29% vs. 4% at Time 2, P < .05; and was not measured at Time 0). Pro-social behavior scores were higher in WITS schools at all time points for outdoor and indoor recess (P < .05). Conclusions and Implications: WITS programming changed school lunch consumption with both positive and negative results. WITS is a promising school-wide intervention. Further research is needed to better understand how students could eat more of all school lunch components and how to get students more physically active during outdoor recess. Funding: Wellness in the Schools.

Voices from Diverse Freshman Students: How Arts Integration Impacted their Learning

Author(s): Robinson, A Helene | Abstract: In this mixed-method study the researcher sought to explore answers to the following research questions: What is the effect of an arts integration approach on diverse freshman students’ perceptions of learning, motivation/engagement, school attendance, and academic achievement?Are there changes that occur in the quality of classroom instructional processes, including emotional support, classroom organization, and instructional support when an arts integration approach is being utilized? As a quasi-experimental mixed-method study, the study utilized observations, focus groups, student questionnaires, field notes, and data obtained from the NYC IRB on student attendance, student demographics, and academic achievement data in a diverse high school in NYC public schools where 90% of the students were classified as non-white students. Among the 231 participating freshman students, 3% were part of the ELL program (n = 4); 22% of the students had some disability (n = 41); and the majority of the students were receiving a free or reduced lunch (n = 111, 61%). One of the 9th grade academies was selected as the control group and another as the treatment group. Teachers in the treatment group received a limited amount of professional development on arts integration using a small group project based implementation approach. Results indicate that the teachers in the treatment group increased levels of instructional support and differentiated learning formats in their classroom as compared to the teachers in the control group. Additionally, students in the treatment group outperformed the control group students in 3 out of the 4 subject area achievement outcomes that were compared. There was no significant difference found in student attendance between the control and treatment group students even though a snowstorm and a hurricane occurred during the semester this study was implemented. Data from the student questionnaires, the focus groups, field notes, and observations was triangulated and supported the quantitative data. The qualitative data provided a deeper understanding on how the experience had impacted student’s self-beliefs and emotional engagement. Additionally, there was a significant increase in their behavioral engagement that was both observed and self-reported by students. This study makes a significant contribution to research identifying which aspects of instructional support seem to increase when teachers implement arts integration. Additionally, it extends other arts integration research examining diverse/disadvantaged student engagement and achievement even when adversity is experienced in a school.

Relationship between Recreational Resources in the School Neighborhood and Changes in Fitness in New York City Public School Students.

Physical fitness in children has many beneficial effects, including the maintenance of a healthy weight. The built environment may influence youths' physical fitness by encouraging physical activity. This paper assessed whether higher density of parks, playgrounds, and sports facilities around a school is related to improvements in fitness in middle school boys and girls. Fitness scores and other student covariates collected as part of NYC FITNESSGRAM between the 2006-2007 and 2010-2011 school years were linked with school neighborhood data on characteristics of the built environment for NYC public school students in grades 6-8. Data were analyzed in 2015. Medium, but not high, density of recreational resources in the area surrounding a school was associated with greater annual improvements in fitness for both boys and girls. This association appeared to be driven mainly by the presence of parks. Findings for sports facilities and playgrounds were inconsistent. Overall, few associations were observed between recreational resources near a school and changes in student fitness. Future studies of school influences on student fitness should consider the influence of school resources and the home neighborhood.

Comparison of School Lunch Vegetable Subgroup Consumption in a Naturalistic Elementary School Cafeteria Setting

ObjectiveSchool lunch programs seek strategies to increase students’ vegetable consumption. This study compares 2nd and 3rd grade students’ consumption of various subtypes of vegetables served as part of hot lunch.Design, Setting, Participants, and InterventionSecond and 3rd grade students from 14 NYC public elementary schools were observed on at least 3 days during lunch. On observation days, 3–6 researchers observed 4 random students each, using the System of Observational Cafeteria Assessment of Foods Eaten (SOCAFE).Outcome Measures and AnalysisVegetable selection was recorded, as was amount consumed (0%, 10%/bite, 25%, 50%, 75%, 100%, >100%). Vegetables served were classified into 6 subtypes. One-way ANOVA and post-hoc Tukey HSD tested for differences in mean intake across subtypes.ResultsStudents’ consumption of vegetables was: white potato (49%, SD=51%); other starchy: corn, plantains (28%, SD=44%); dark green: broccoli, garden salad, kale (12%, SD=30%); red/orange: tomatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots (8%, SD=22%); beans: black beans, chickpeas, (1%, SD=4%); and other: cucumber, green beans, mixed vegetables in egg roll (10%, SD=24%). Consumption of white potato and other starchy vegetables were significantly higher than all other subtypes, all at p<0.001, with potato also higher than other starchy, p<0.01. Dark green vegetable consumption was statistically higher than beans, p<0.05.Conclusions and ImplicationsThis study confirms what others have found, that when white potatoes are served, students eat more vegetables. Students also eat more other starchy vegetables. yet, consumption of all other vegetables were low. Nutrition education that include motivational activities, tasting and cooking can be used to encourage students to eat a wider variety vegetables, specifically those less frequently consumed at school lunch.FundingWellness In The Schools ObjectiveSchool lunch programs seek strategies to increase students’ vegetable consumption. This study compares 2nd and 3rd grade students’ consumption of various subtypes of vegetables served as part of hot lunch. School lunch programs seek strategies to increase students’ vegetable consumption. This study compares 2nd and 3rd grade students’ consumption of various subtypes of vegetables served as part of hot lunch. Design, Setting, Participants, and InterventionSecond and 3rd grade students from 14 NYC public elementary schools were observed on at least 3 days during lunch. On observation days, 3–6 researchers observed 4 random students each, using the System of Observational Cafeteria Assessment of Foods Eaten (SOCAFE). Second and 3rd grade students from 14 NYC public elementary schools were observed on at least 3 days during lunch. On observation days, 3–6 researchers observed 4 random students each, using the System of Observational Cafeteria Assessment of Foods Eaten (SOCAFE). Outcome Measures and AnalysisVegetable selection was recorded, as was amount consumed (0%, 10%/bite, 25%, 50%, 75%, 100%, >100%). Vegetables served were classified into 6 subtypes. One-way ANOVA and post-hoc Tukey HSD tested for differences in mean intake across subtypes. Vegetable selection was recorded, as was amount consumed (0%, 10%/bite, 25%, 50%, 75%, 100%, >100%). Vegetables served were classified into 6 subtypes. One-way ANOVA and post-hoc Tukey HSD tested for differences in mean intake across subtypes. ResultsStudents’ consumption of vegetables was: white potato (49%, SD=51%); other starchy: corn, plantains (28%, SD=44%); dark green: broccoli, garden salad, kale (12%, SD=30%); red/orange: tomatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots (8%, SD=22%); beans: black beans, chickpeas, (1%, SD=4%); and other: cucumber, green beans, mixed vegetables in egg roll (10%, SD=24%). Consumption of white potato and other starchy vegetables were significantly higher than all other subtypes, all at p<0.001, with potato also higher than other starchy, p<0.01. Dark green vegetable consumption was statistically higher than beans, p<0.05. Students’ consumption of vegetables was: white potato (49%, SD=51%); other starchy: corn, plantains (28%, SD=44%); dark green: broccoli, garden salad, kale (12%, SD=30%); red/orange: tomatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots (8%, SD=22%); beans: black beans, chickpeas, (1%, SD=4%); and other: cucumber, green beans, mixed vegetables in egg roll (10%, SD=24%). Consumption of white potato and other starchy vegetables were significantly higher than all other subtypes, all at p<0.001, with potato also higher than other starchy, p<0.01. Dark green vegetable consumption was statistically higher than beans, p<0.05. Conclusions and ImplicationsThis study confirms what others have found, that when white potatoes are served, students eat more vegetables. Students also eat more other starchy vegetables. yet, consumption of all other vegetables were low. Nutrition education that include motivational activities, tasting and cooking can be used to encourage students to eat a wider variety vegetables, specifically those less frequently consumed at school lunch. This study confirms what others have found, that when white potatoes are served, students eat more vegetables. Students also eat more other starchy vegetables. yet, consumption of all other vegetables were low. Nutrition education that include motivational activities, tasting and cooking can be used to encourage students to eat a wider variety vegetables, specifically those less frequently consumed at school lunch.