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The cafeteria in any school in any district in any part of this city is an interesting place. The school dining experience is about more than just making sure that kids eat. There are many other factors that affect the functioning of the school lunchroom.

One of the many hats I have worn in my career as a teacher is that of cafeteria coordinator in my middle school in Brooklyn. That role enabled me to become a connoisseur of the school lunchroom experience.

As educators, you know that the cafeteria is, without question, a reflection of the tone and climate of that particular school. A chaotic lunch period generally translates into a chaotic school. How students interact with each other in large groups — whether in the lunchroom, passing each other between periods in the hallways or in physical education classes — is a true litmus test for a school.

When I was in charge of the lunchroom, I considered it a successful day if the following took place: students arrived on time; everyone managed to get fed in 40 minutes; there were no fights or food throwing; everyone was safe; students were dismissed on time; they picked up after themselves; and no one was late for their next class. If all of those things happened, it was a home run. While our school hit more home runs than not, I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge that we had our share of lunchroom challenges.

“In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity” is a quote I borrowed from Albert Einstein for my Middle School Conference, which took place in March. It sums up our middle schools and the challenges we face. This same quote also captures the spirit behind a pilot school-lunch program that the Department of Education introduced this year at a handful of schools across the city to try to change the culture of the lunchroom.

Here are the sorts of changes that the DOE has made to school lunchrooms at the pilot schools:

• Long rectangular tables, which make it hard for students to talk to each other, have been replaced with round tables, so everyone can be a part of the conversation.
• Walls have been painted brighter colors; better lighting has been installed; and some cafeterias have even been decorated.
• More varied food offerings, including healthier menu choices and salad and vegetable bars, have been introduced.
• Flat-screen televisions have been mounted on the walls throughout the cafeteria so that students can watch videos while they eat.
• Board games have been made available for the students to play while they eat or when they are finished eating.
• Intramural sports programs have been created so classes can compete against one another in various sports during the lunch period.
• Counselors (on a voluntary basis) and SAPIS workers are sitting at the lunch tables and working with students during this block of time.

Any one of these modifications by itself would improve the lunchroom experience for most students. When you combine them, the school dining experience is no longer what it used to be at the pilot schools.

Some schools took the pilot program’s ideas and expanded upon them. For example, as part of this pilot program, MS 129 in the Bronx decorated its cafeteria like a 1950s diner. It painted a giant diner mural and purchased a jukebox and vinyl records plus other 1950s paraphernalia to hang on the walls. When you walk into that cafeteria, you have to take a step back because it is truly a sight to behold.

MS 129 Chapter Leader Lauren Council told me that “as soon as the kids walk into the lunchroom, their day literally and figuratively brightens. It looks nothing like their old, dreary, dimly lit lunchroom.” She went on to say that it is not just about the aesthetics. She’s also noticed that the kids are eating healthier, as evidenced by “the large number of kids that go to the salad and vegetable bar.”

So far, the results of this pilot program have been positive, and the DOE hopes to expand the program to other middle schools in the next school year. The UFT has chipped in by purchasing board games for the participating schools.

As the former coordinator of a middle school cafeteria, I am cautiously optimistic that this program will succeed. As educators, I think we would all agree that anything and everything that improves upon the school lunch experience is worth trying.