CANTON — Perhaps now more than ever, schools all across this country are asking the same question: What helps children learn?

While the answers are surely complex and varied, four schools in Haywood County have decided that at least part of the solution is simple — as simple as breakfast. Thanks to a pilot program started by Director of Childhood Nutrition Alison Francis and funded by reimbursement money from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, all students at North Canton Elementary, Central Elementary, Tuscola High and Bethel Middle are now offered nutritionally balanced breakfasts, free of charge.

It only takes a few minutes at any of these schools' classrooms to see how popular the brand-new program has already become. On a recent morning in Lisa Holland's fourth-grade class at North ...