Table 2.
Characteristics of elementary and middle schools participating in the Healthy Communities Study by school poverty level and region (N=401)
| School Poverty Levela, b | Region | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All schools (N=401)a |
Low-Mid (n=81) |
Mid-High (n=106) |
High (n=214) |
P | West (n=90) |
South (n=179) |
Midwest (n=67) |
Northeast (n=65) |
P | |
| n (%) or Mean (SD) | ||||||||||
| School grade-level type (N=401) | ||||||||||
| Elementary | 212 (52.9%) | 40 (49.4%) | 49 (46.2%) | 123 (57.5%) | 0.14 | 49 (54.4%) | 99 (55.3%) | 35 (52.2%) | 29 (44.6%) | 0.07 |
| Middle | 143 (35.7%) | 35 (43.2%) | 42 (39.6%) | 66 (30.8%) | 30 (33.3%) | 66 (36.9%) | 26 (38.8%) | 21 (32.3%) | ||
| K-8 | 46 (11.5%) | 6 (7.4%) | 15 (14.2%) | 25 (11.7%) | 11 (12.2%) | 14 (7.8%) | 6 (9.0%) | 15 (23.1%) | ||
| Mean (SD) student enrollment (n=374) | 624 (278) | 696 (292) | 609 (299) | 604 (258) | 0.04 | 667 (233) | 647 (303) | 526 (232) | 602 (285) | 0.009 |
| Mean (%) average daily attendance (n=362) | 93.8 (6.1) | 95.5 (2.4) | 93.6 (9.9) | 93.3 (4.4) | 0.04 | 94.6 (3.8) | 94.3 (4.0) | 93.5 (3.4) | 91.7 (12.4) | 0.02 |
| Mean (%) students approved for free or reduced-price meals in the previous school year (N=401)b | ||||||||||
| Free or reduced-price meals | 71.8 (24.2) | 33.0 (14.1) | 64.0 (6.7) | 90.3 (7.4) | <0.001 | 68.7 (24.5) | 71.9 (23.2) | 75.2 (26.7) | 72.3 (23.7) | 0.41 |
| Mean (%) students participating in school meals | ||||||||||
| School breakfast (n=392) | 35.8 (24.2) | 14.1 (14.9) | 27.1 (14.3) | 48.2 (23.3) | <0.001 | 34.1 (39.9) | 42.2 (29.3) | 35.2 (24.2) | 31.9 (22.7) | 0.05 |
| School lunch (n=384) | 66.3 (18.0) | 47.0 (15.6) | 63.1 (12.9) | 75.2 (14.4) | <0.001 | 71.1 (84.3) | 69.9 (21.4) | 70.4 (38.5) | 66.3 (21.0) | 0.93 |
| Urbanicity (n=401) | ||||||||||
| Rural | 93 (23.2%) | 23 (28.4%) | 24 (22.6%) | 46 (21.5%) | <0.001 | 15 (16.7%) | 58 (32.4%) | 11 (16.4%) | 9 (13.9%) | <0.001 |
| Suburban | 160 (39.9%) | 25 (30.9%) | 61 (57.6%) | 74 (34.6%) | 25 (27.8%) | 73 (40.8%) | 30 (44.8%) | 32 (49.2%) | ||
| Urban | 148 (36.9%) | 33 (40.7%) | 21 (19.8%) | 94 (43.9%) | 50 (55.6%) | 48 (26.8%) | 26 (38.8%) | 24 (36.9%) | ||
| Minority Classification (N=401) | ||||||||||
| African American | 102 (25.4%) | 3 (3.7%) | 26 (24.5%) | 73 (34.1%) | <0.001 | 4 (4.4%) | 61 (34.1%) | 25 (37.3%) | 12 (18.5%) | <0.001 |
| Hispanic | 129 (32.2%) | 16 (19.8%) | 26 (24.5%) | 87 (40.7%) | 43 (47.8%) | 53 (29.6%) | 12 (17.9%) | 21 (32.3%) | ||
| Other | 170 (42.4%) | 62 (76.5%) | 54 (50.9%) | 54 (25.2%) | 43 (47.8%) | 65 (36.3%) | 30 (44.8%) | 32 (49.2%) | ||
a
N may differ due to nonresponse.
b
School poverty level was determined by the percent of students eligible for free or reduced-price meals. The categories were defined as follows: low-mid (≤50%), mid-high (>50% to 75%), high (>75%).