533 Policy: Wellness

500: Students

Adopted	Review Frequency
Adopted: 06-09-2016 Reviewed: 05-23-2019 Revised: 06-27-2019 Revised 07-23-2020	Three Year

PURPOSE

The School District is committed to providing a healthy school environment and culture that promotes and protects student health, well-being, and opportunity to achieve and thrive by supporting healthy eating and physical activity.
GENERAL STATEMENT OF POLICY

The School District has a responsibility to foster a learning environment that encourages students to maintain lifelong healthy eating habits, and physical, social and emotional health.

Children need daily access to healthy foods and opportunities to be physically active in order to learn, grow, and thrive. All students in Early Childhood through Transitions will have opportunities, support, and encouragement to be physically active and eat healthy on a regular basis.
GOALS

Through district curriculum and community partnerships, students will learn that nutrition, health, and physical education are essential components of the educational process leading to lifelong habits of healthy eating and physical activity.
1. Physical Education
  
  Through district curriculum, the School District will:
  1. Educate students and families to recognize that physical education is an essential component of the educational process and that good health fosters academic achievement.
  2. Provide opportunities to strengthen the skills and knowledge needed to maintain a healthy lifestyle through the district’s physical education and health curricula.
  3. Provide a developmentally appropriate individual, goal driven, fitness plan to include ongoing evaluations of current fitness and health levels, aligned with national and state standards.
2. Physical Activity
  
  Through district curriculum, the School District will:
  1. Provide adequate opportunities to all students Early Childhood through Transitions to be physically active during the school day to contribute to the recommended goal of 60 minutes of physical activity each day.
    1. Incorporate opportunities for physical activities into other subject lessons and between lessons or classes, as appropriate.
  2. Understanding the importance of physical activity in a child’s ability to focus and learn in the classroom, school personnel are encouraged to use physical activity as a reward for good behavior.
    1. School personnel will not withhold participation in recess or physical education as a punishment for lack of work completion, unless mutually agreed to by the parent/guardian.
    2. School personnel will not use physical activity as a punishment (running laps, push-ups, etc.)
HEALTH AND NUTRITION EDUCATION

Through district curriculum, the School District will:
1. Provide nutrition education that follows national and state standards and focuses on understanding the relationship between personal behavior, individual health, and the impact of food choices.
  1. Teachers will incorporate nutritional information into subject lessons where appropriate.
  2. Food will not be used as a reward or punishment for academic performance or behavior.
  3. Proper nutrition and physical activity will be used as a tool to enhance academic behavior and performance.
2. School-based Activities
  1. The District will support and promote physical activities for students and families through a broad range of before and after school activities, intramurals, summer activities, community education offerings, cocurricular activities, and physical education offerings.
  2. The District will support the use of district facilities for physical activities by students, staff, and the community, outside the normal school day, consistent with the Community Education Facilities Use Guidelines.
  3. The District will support school and community partnerships that encourage physical and emotional health.
  4. The District will support the use of USDA Child Nutrition Standards for fund-raising efforts held outside the school day
3. Nutrition Promotion
  1. The District will support students in the development of healthy eating habits both during and outside the school day.
  2. The District will support families’ efforts to provide healthy food choices for children and will share information about healthy food choices in school and suggestions for home.
  3. Schools will utilize competitive pricing, signage, product placement and promotional strategies to let students know which items are healthy, such as salads and fruit, and to encourage these healthy food choice consistent with USDA Child Nutrition Standards.
  4. Schools will restrict food and beverages marketing to the promotion of only those foods and beverages that meet the USDA Smart Snacks in School nutrition standards.
NUTRITION GUIDELINES
1. USDA Child Nutrition Standards apply to all foods and beverages available at each school during the school day with the objectives of promoting student health and reducing childhood obesity.
2. The School District will strive to eliminate students’ access to unhealthy foods and beverages on school grounds.
3. Food and beverages will not be part of student birthday recognition events. Staff will be thoughtful and align with district nutrition guidelines when using food and beverage during occasional classroom celebrations and lessons.
  1. Caution will be exercised when offering foods and materials that may cause allergic reactions.
  2. All foods and beverages provided to and/or made available to students on campus during the school day will comply with USDA Child Nutrition Standards (including, but not limited to, food and beverages sold in al a carte, concessions, school stores, vending, beverage contracts, and other instances where food or beverages are provided or sold).
  3. No home prepared food may be provided, or sold to students. All foods sold or provided to students must be prepared in licensed commercial kitchens or facilities and labeled with nutrition and ingredient statements.
  4. To the extent possible, the District will ensure that all students have access to adequate time for school meals.
4. The District will provide students access to hand washing or hand sanitizing before they eat meals or snacks.
5. The District will encourage compliance with USDA Child Nutrition Standards for foods made available on campus outside the school day (including, but not limited to, concessions, school stores, vending, beverage contracts, and other instances where food or beverages are provided or sold).
IMPLEMENTING AND MONITORING

The Superintendent, or designee, will ensure compliance with the wellness policy and will prepare an annual report. Such report shall include, at a minimum:
1. The extent to which schools are in compliance with the local wellness policy
2. The progress made toward attaining the goals of the wellness policy
3. The extent to which the local wellness policy compares to model local wellness policies.

USDA Child Nutrition Standards apply to all foods and beverages available at each school during the school day with the objectives of promoting student health and reducing childhood obesity.
1. The District will inform and update the public, including parents, students, and others in the community about the content and implementation of the wellness policy, and the policy will be posted on the District’s website.
Training and Education
1. On an annual basis, staff will be provided information and applicable training regarding this policy.
2. Staff will be provided appropriate training and ongoing staff development regarding best practice as it relates to physical and health education, and the incorporation of physical activity and nutrition during the school day
3. Nutrition, health and physical education information and opportunities will be provided to parents through a variety of formats.
Review of Policy

A committee consisting of staff, parent/guardian, student, and community partner representatives shall confer annually to review this policy for effectiveness and consistency with law. Recommended changes shall be submitted to the School Board for consideration.