S02 E08 — Making School Lunch a Brand

Episode Description

Why do some school meal programs thrive while others struggle to get students to participate? 

In this episode of Cafeteria Confessions, we sit down with Jeannette Acevedo-Isenberg of Downtown Doral Charter Schools to explore why serving great food is only part of building a successful school meal program. Jeannette shares how her schools approached food service as an extension of their school culture, using intentional marketing, student-created social media, parent communication, a cafeteria refresh, and even a grand opening to build excitement and trust around the program. 

We discuss how branding and visibility can shape the way students and families perceive school meals, why the cafeteria experience should reflect the same standards as the rest of the school, and the importance of treating food service providers as part of the school team. For school leaders looking to increase participation, this conversation shows that improving what’s on the tray matters, but so does how you introduce, promote, and experience it. 

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About the Guest

Jeannette Acevedo-Isenberg serves as the Head of Schools of the award-winning Downtown Doral Charter Elementary School and Downtown Doral Charter Upper School. She directly supervises faculty and staff and manages all aspects of the schools’ operations. Under her leadership, DDCES is an A-rated school and Gold STEAM designated school and in just three years, the school was listed as a top five school among all elementary schools in Miami-Dade County and ranked #1 in English Language Arts achievement among all schools in the state of Florida with 25% or more English Language Learners. DDCUS is also an A-rated school, Gold STEAM designated school, an authorized International Baccalaureate World School and is ranked among the top 1% public and upper charter schools in the state of Florida. Both DDCES and DDCUS are accredited by COGNIA. Accreditation from COGNIA is a valuable mark of distinction recognized around the world. Acevedo-Isenberg herself earned the 2016 Council for Educational Change’s Sue and Leonard Miller Statewide Principal Leadership Award. She was also featured as an “Achiever” in Miami Today Spring 2017 and was nominated as the Hispanic Advocate of the Year. In 2019, she was selected to represent South Florida in the Young American Leaders Program at Harvard University.

The state-of-the-art facilities at Downtown Doral include a much sought-after Spanish, French, and Portuguese language program. The school is privately controlled and financed, but publicly managed by Miami-Dade County Public Schools. Additionally, she works with the board of trustees to implement the vision and the mission of the school.
Prior to joining Downtown Doral Charter Elementary School, Ms. Acevedo-Isenberg served as the assistant principal at Lillie C. Evans K-8 Center in Miami. In that position, she coordinated the overall administration of the school, ensured curriculum development met the needs of all students and supervised all school personnel. Before that, Acevedo-Isenberg worked at the award-winning language magnet – Sunset Elementary School – in Miami for 20 years. She served as lead teacher, responsible for the overall supervision and management of school’s language program including leading curriculum development, recruitment, the application process, registration, and marketing of the program. Ms. Acevedo-Isenberg also served as a third grade teacher, first grade teacher, teacher of the gifted, and Spanish teacher during her tenure at Sunset Elementary.

Ms. Acevedo-Isenberg graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish and Foreign Language Education from the University of Miami, and received her Masters of Science in Elementary Education and an Educational Specialist Degree in Educational Leadership from Nova Southeastern University. She has also been the recipient of several prestigious awards including Region III 2011 Francisco R. Walker Teacher of the Year for Miami-Dade County Public Schools and Sallie Mae Teacher of the Year Award 1995.

When asked what the most important thing a school administrator must keep in mind, Jeannette stated, “Children First. Always. Educators must always keep children as the first priority in any and every decision that is made in a learning institution.” Ms. Acevedo-Isenberg’s passion for children and her language program background make her a perfect fit as the Head of Downtown Doral Charter Schools.