Arlington Public Schools might definitively put the kibosh on outside birthday treats in the classroom.
A policy update is set to be considered by the School Board later this month, according to the Gazette Leader.
Arlington School Board members soon could put the final stake in the heart of birthday cupcakes in classrooms.
Regular cake, too. And cookies. And probably even carrot sticks, pita chips and hummus brought in by the kid whose parents are on a health kick.
An update to school-system health policies slated to be presented to School Board members April 25 would outright prohibit special in-classroom birthday treats.
Currently, schools are “strongly encouraged” to adopt such policies, but not required to.
Similar policies have been adopted at other school systems.
There are a number of arguments against parents bringing in treats for a kid’s birthday, including:
- Potential for food allergies
- Treats are often sugary and unhealthy
- An inequitable difference between birthday celebrations depending on a family’s means
- Disruptive to classroom instruction
Arguments for in-school birthday treats include the celebrations being fun, cupcakes being tasty, and kids enjoying having their birthday recognized.
What do you think?
Photo by Isabella Fischer on Unsplash