3350-Wellness

General Administration Washington County School District - Adopted 3-21-06; revised 11-8-11
1. Purpose:

The Washington County School District is committed to providing a school environments that promotes and protects children's health, well-being, and ability to learn by supporting healthy eating and physical activity.

2. Policy:

It is the policy of the Washington County School District that:

2.1. The School District will engage students, parents, teachers, food service professionals, health professionals, and other interested community members in developing, implementing, monitoring, and reviewing District-wide nutrition and physical activity policies.
 
2.2. All students in grades K-12 will have opportunities, support, and encouragement to be physically active on a regular basis.
 
2.3. Foods and beverages sold or served at school will meet the nutrition recommendations of the U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
 
2.4. Qualified child nutrition professionals will provide students with access to a variety of affordable, nutritious, and appealing foods that meet the health and nutrition needs of students, and will provide clean, safe, and pleasant settings and adequate time for students to eat.
 
2.5. To the maximum extent practicable, all schools in our District will participate in available federal school meal programs.
 
2.6. Schools will provide nutrition education and physical education to foster lifelong habits of healthy eating and physical activity.

3. Procedure:

3.1 School Community Councils will serve as the School Health Councils. The School District and/or individual schools within the district will create, strengthen, or work within existing community councils to develop, implement, monitor, review, and, as necessary, revise school nutrition and physical activity policies.
 
3.2 Nutritional Quality of Foods and Beverages Sold and Served on Campus School Meals. Meals served through the National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs will:
3.2.1. be appealing and attractive to children;

3.2.2. be served in clean and pleasant settings;

3.2.3. meet, at a minimum, nutrition requirements established by local, state, and federal statutes and regulations;

3.2.4. offer a variety of fruits and vegetables;

3.2.5. serve only low-fat dairy products.

 
3.3. Schools should engage students and parents, through taste-tests of new entrees and surveys, in selecting foods sold through the school meal programs in order to identify new, healthful, and appealing food choices. In addition, schools should share information about the nutritional content of meals with parents and students.
3.3.1. Foods and beverages available during the school day should minimize use of trans and saturated fats, sodium and sugar as defined by the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
3.3.2. Food and beverage providers should offer modest portion sizes age-appropriate for elementary, middle, and high school students, respectively. An age-appropriate diet is one that provides adequate nutrition and is appropriate for a child's state of development.
        
3.3.3. If foods are available, they should include a variety of choices of nutritious foods, such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains and low-fat or nonfat dairy foods.
        
3.3.4. School Health Councils should be engaged in choosing the competitive food selections for their local schools.
        
3.3.5. Drinking water and hand-washing facilities should be conveniently available for students at all times.
        
3.3.6. Carbonated beverages should not be available to elementary school students during the school day.
        
3.3.7. Carbonated beverages should only be available in intermediate, middle, and high schools where a full array of low-fat milk products, 100% fruit juices, water and other products are available.  Refer to policy 3320 Snacks, Treats, and Competitive Foods for complete guidelines on competitive foods.
       
3.3.8. Classroom snacks should reinforce the importance of healthy choices.
       
3.3.9. Classroom celebrations, especially in elementary schools, should encourage healthy choices, and portion control. Parents and families should receive guidance from the school on foods that are appropriate for such celebrations.
        
3.3.10. Teacher-to-Student Incentive. Strong consideration should be given to nonfood items as part of ant teacher-to-student incentives. Should teachers feel compelled to utilize food items as an incentive, they are encouraged to adhere to the Federal Nutritional Guidelines for school districts.
        
3.3.11. Schools should encourage fundraisers (see Fundraising Policy 2020) that promote positive health habits such as the sale of nonfood and nutritious food items, as well as fundraising to support physical activity events.
3.3.12.  Competitive foods and fundraisers should not be sold in competition with school meal times. 
3.4. Breakfast. Schools should encourage all children to have breakfast, either at home or at school. In order to meet their nutritional needs and enhance their ability to learn:
3.4.1. Schools will, to the extent possible, operate the School Breakfast Program.

3.4.2. Schools will, to the extent possible, arrange bus schedules and utilize methods to serve school breakfasts that encourage participation.

3.4.3. Schools that serve breakfast to students will notify parents and students of the availability of the School Breakfast Program.

3.5. Free and Reduced-priced Meals. Schools will make every effort to eliminate any social stigma attached to, and prevent the overt identification of, students who are eligible for free and reduced-price school meals.

3.5.1.  Summer Meal Programs will be advertised in the community and available from year-to-year based on the needs of the community and individual school participation.  Summer meals must be consumed on school campus.
3.6. Meal Times and Scheduling. Schools:
3.6.1. provide elementary students with at least 10 minutes to eat after sitting down for breakfast and 20 minutes after sitting down for lunch.  Secondary schools will provide adequate mealtime.

3.6.2. should schedule meal periods at appropriate times, e.g., lunch should be scheduled between 10:30 a.m. and 1:00 p.m.;

3.6.3. will provide students access to hand washing.

3.7. Staff Wellness. Washington County School District highly values the health and well-being of every staff member and encourage activities that support personal efforts by staff to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

3.7.1. The District and each work site are encouraged to establish volunteer committees to assist in identifying and supporting the health, safety and well being of site staff.

3.7.2. Each school and District site shall be in compliance with drug, alcohol and tobacco free policies.

3.7.3. To the extent possible, employees shall be encouraged to engage in daily physical activity. 

3.8. Physical Activity Opportunities and Physical Education. The physical education program shall be designed to stress physical fitness and encourage healthy, active lifestyles. The physical education program shall consist of physical activities of at least moderate intensity and for a duration that is sufficient to provide a significant health benefit to students, subject to the differing abilities of students.
 
 
3.8.1. Daily Recess. All elementary school students will have at least 20 minutes a day of supervised recess, preferably outdoors, during which schools should encourage moderate to vigorous physical activity verbally and through the provision of space and equipment.

Schools should give students periodic breaks during which they are encouraged to stand and be moderately active.

3.8.2. Safe Routes to School. The School District will assess and, if necessary and to the extent possible, make needed improvements to make it safer and easier for students to walk to school. When appropriate, the District will work together with local public works, public safety, and/or police departments in those efforts. The school district will explore the availability of federal "safe routes to school" funds, administered by the state department of transportation, to finance such improvements.

 
3.9. Monitoring and Policy Review. The Superintendent or designee will ensure compliance with established District-wide nutrition and physical activity wellness policies. In each school, the principal or designee should ensure compliance with those policies in his/her school and will report on the school's compliance to the School District Superintendent or designee.