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Kensington School Hosts Special Guests In Celebration Of National Breakfast Week

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - It's National School Breakfast Week and students at an elementary school in Philadelphia had some special guests to eat with. A long-time school employee also got a surprise.

The 4th grade students were at their desks having breakfast at H. A. Brown Elementary in Kensington when they had some adults join them, asking them about what they're eating and what they're learning about. Mayor Jim Kenney, City Councilwoman Helen Gym and School District of Philadelphia Superintendent William Hite each sat with separate groups of students as they ate to get a start to their day.

"Most important meal of the day, particularly for young learners," Hite said. "That is really important that we provide that at school."

Hite says H. A. Brown is one of 40 schools in the district that serve breakfast to more than 70 percent of its students.

"And our goal is to ratchet that number up pretty significantly," he said.

School officials praised the hard working staff at Brown for making the breakfast program a success. That included Marlo Williams who cherished the title "lunch lady". She was surprised when Gym gave her a city council citation honoring her 15 years of service.

Marlo Williams
Marlo Williams (credit: Tim Jimenez)

"I come to work for the kids. I wouldn't have it no other way. I wouldn't change it," she said.

She treats the kids as her own, because in her words, "a lot of kids don't get that love at home."

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