The mission of the District is to prepare all students for success in college, career and life.  The District recognizes that schools play a critical role in creating a healthy environment for the prevention of childhood obesity and combating problems associated with poor nutrition and lack of physical activity. This policy encourages all members of the District and community to maintain an environment that enhances maximum student intellectual, social, emotional and physical potential (collectively, “Wellness”). Therefore, the Board adopts the Wellness Policy including, but not limited to, the elements listed in below, to be formulated, implemented, and reported as follows:

Glossary: 

School Campus: areas that are owned or leased by the school and used at any time for school-related activities, including on the outside of the school building, school buses or other vehicles used to transport students, athletic fields and stadiums (e.g., on scoreboards, coolers, cups, and water bottles), or parking lots. 

School Day: the time between midnight the night before to 30 minutes after the end of the instructional day. 

Smart Snacks: Food and beverages, which meet USDA’s nutrition standards, sold throughout the school building (vending machines, school stores, snack carts, a la carte, fundraising) during the school day. 

Triennial – recurring every three years. 

District Wellness Committee (DWC) - The DWC membership will represent all school levels and include (to the extent possible), but not be limited to: parents and caregivers; students; nutrition services staff; physical education teachers; health education teachers; school health professionals; mental health and social services staff; school administrators; school board members; and the general public. When possible, membership will also include Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education coordinators. To the extent possible, the DWC will include representatives from each school building and reflect the diversity of the community.  

Wellness Policy Implementation, Monitoring, Accountability and Community Engagement 

The District will convene a representative District Wellness Committee (“DWC”) that meets at least four times per year to establish goals and oversee school health and safety policies and programs, including development, implementation and periodic review and update of this Wellness Policy.  The Superintendent or the Superintendent’s designee(s) will distribute determinations and expectations derived by the DWC to every school and program and will ensure each school’s compliance with the policy. 

Each school and program will designate a Wellness Policy Coordinator, who will ensure compliance with the Wellness Policy. 

Information about the DWC membership, meeting schedule and agendas, and each Wellness Policy Coordinator, together with the Wellness Policy and the progress reports for each school and program referred to below, will be made available on the District website. 

Implementation Plan 

The District will develop and maintain a plan for implementation to manage and coordinate the execution of this Wellness Policy. The plan will delineate the roles, responsibilities, actions and timelines specific to each school and program and includes information about who will be responsible to make what change, by how much, where and when; as well as specific goals and objectives for nutrition standards for all foods and beverages available on the school or program campus, food and beverage marketing, nutrition promotion and education, physical activity, physical education and other school-based activities that promote student Wellness. It is recommended that the school use the Healthy Schools Program online tools to complete a school-level assessment based on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s School Health Index, create an action plan that fosters implementation and generate an annual progress report.    

The DWC, in collaboration with individual schools and programs, will monitor compliance with this Wellness Policy.  

This Wellness Policy and the progress reports for each school and program will be made available on the District’s website.  

Recordkeeping 

The District will retain records to document compliance with the requirements of the Wellness Policy in the Nutrition Services office and/or on the District’s computer network. Documentation maintained in this location will include but will not be limited to: 

1. The written Wellness Policy;
2. Documentation demonstrating that the Wellness Policy has been made available to the public;
3. Documentation of efforts to review and update the Wellness Policy; including an indication of who is involved in the update and methods the District uses to make stakeholders aware of their ability to participate on the DWC;
4. Documentation to demonstrate compliance with the annual public notification requirements set forth in the following paragraph;
5. The most recent assessment on the implementation of the Wellness Policy in each school and program;
6. Documentation demonstrating the most recent assessment on the implementation of the Wellness Policy in each school and program has been made available to the public. 

Annual Notification of the Wellness Policy and Triennial Notification of Progress Assessments 

The District will inform families, staff and the public each year of basic information about its Wellness Policy, including its content, any updates to the Wellness Policy and its implementation status. This will include a summary of the District’s events or activities related to implementing the Wellness Policy. Annually, the District will also publicize the name and contact information of the District officials leading and coordinating the DWC, as well as information on how the public can get involved with the DWC. 

The District will actively inform families, staff and the public of the availability of the Triennial Assessments Report described below. 

Triennial Assessments Report 

At least once every three years, the Superintendent or the Superintendent’s designee will prepare a written report of its evaluation of the implementation of the Wellness Policy, including: 

1. The extent to which the District’s schools and programs are in compliance with the Wellness Policy;
2. A description of the progress made in attaining the goals of the District’s Wellness Policy. 

Updating and Modifying the Wellness Policy 

The DWC will update or modify the Wellness Policy based on the results of the Triennial Assessments Report and/or as District priorities change; community needs change; wellness goals are met; new health science, information, and technology emerges; and new Federal or state guidance or standards are issued. The Wellness Policy will be assessed and updated as indicated at least every three years, following the Triennial Assessment Report. 

Community Involvement, Outreach and Communications 

The District will actively communicate ways in which members of the DWC and others can participate in the development, implementation and periodic review and update of the Wellness Policy through a variety of means appropriate for the District. The District will also inform parents and staff of the improvements that have been made to school meals and compliance with school meal standards, availability of child nutrition programs and how to apply, and a description of and compliance with Smart Snacks in School nutrition standards. The District will use electronic mechanisms, such as email or displaying notices on the District’s website, as well as non-electronic mechanisms, such as newsletters, presentations to parents, or sending information home to parents, to ensure that all families and staff are actively notified of the content of, implementation of, and updates to the Wellness Policy, as well as how to get involved and support the Wellness Policy. The District will ensure that communications are culturally and linguistically appropriate to the community, and accomplished through means similar to other ways that the District and individual schools are communicating important school information with parents and staff. 

The District will notify the public about the content of or any updates to the Wellness Policy at least annually. The District will also use these mechanisms to inform the community about the availability of the Annual Notification Of The Wellness Policy and Triennial Assessment Reports.

The Wellness Policy will Include, but not be limited to, the following elements: 

Nutrition Education: 

The primary goal of nutrition education is to influence students’ eating behaviors. Schools will promote nutrition education throughout a student’s K-12 educational program. Nutrition education is incorporated into a variety of curriculum areas. These curriculum experiences provide the knowledge and skills necessary to make healthy food choices for a lifetime. 

Physical Activity: 

The primary goals are to offer the opportunities for students to experience a variety of physical activities and to educate the value of a consistent fitness program for better health, academic success and general social emotional well-being. Schools will promote opportunities for physical activity throughout the school day and during after-school programs. Physical activity, health and fitness education is incorporated throughout a student’s K-12 educational program. 

Nutrition Standards: 

Students’ lifelong health and nutritious eating habits are greatly influenced by the types and choices of foods and beverages available to them. School reimbursable meals meet the federal program requirements and nutrition standards. District staff will promote standards and provide information relative to foods and beverages sold or served to students outside of the school meal programs. The District’s minimal standards are as follows: (1) school breakfast and lunch programs will be offered which meet or exceed the requirements of federal and state law and regulatory authorities and (2) no foods in competition with the school lunch or breakfast program shall be sold or otherwise made available to students anywhere on school premises during the period of time restricted by law (as further identified in the paragraphs below describing Competitive Foods and Beverages). 

Other School-Based Activities: 

Schools are encouraged to promote school environments which provide consistent wellness messages that are conducive to healthy eating, positive relationships and being physically active. 

Nutrition Education: 

Nutrition Education shall be integrated into the lesson plans of other school subjects, i.e., math, reading, science, history, social studies, and foreign languages. It shall be designed to help students learn: 

1. Nutritional Knowledge including but not limited to the benefits of healthy eating, essential nutrients, nutritional deficiencies, principles of healthy weight management, the use and misuse of dietary supplements and safe food preparations, handling and storage.
2. Nutrition-related Skills including but not limited to planning a healthy meal, understanding and using food labels, and critically evaluating nutrition information, misinformation, and commercial food advertising.
3. Identification of Food supplementing the diet with a variety of foods is important, understanding the input of food (calories) versus output, healthful food choices, food groups and the nutrition facts label.
4. Media literacy with an emphasis on food and beverage marketing. 

Nutrition education instructional activities shall stress the appealing aspects of healthy eating and be participatory, developmentally appropriate and enjoyable. 

Professional development activities shall provide the basic knowledge of nutrition combined with skill practice in program-specific activities and instructional techniques and strategies designed to promote healthy eating habits. Professional development shall focus on strategies for the integration of nutrition education into classroom lessons, the availability of nutrition education curriculum, and how to access materials and resources for nutrition education. 

Schools shall collaborate with agencies and groups conducting nutrition education in the community to send consistent messages to students and their families. They shall disseminate nutrition education information to parents, students and staff. 

Physical Education: 

The school’s role is to offer students the opportunity to experience a variety of physical activities and to educate in the value of a consistent fitness program in better health, academic success and general personal well-being. Physical activity has a positive impact on concentration, focus and student achievement. 

Student movement and physical activity are priority goals. They shall not be used as a tool for discipline or reward. 

Through school newsletters and announcements, schools will inform students and parents/guardians of the importance of physical activity and those community resources which offer student and family activities. 

The physical education instructor is a key resource in identifying strategies for increasing student movement and activity throughout the school day. 

Nutrition Standards: 

School Meals 

During each school day, the food service program shall offer breakfast and lunch under the nutritional guidelines, and meet the nutrition requirements, of the USDA’s child nutrition programs, including the Nation School Lunch Program (NSLP), the School Breakfast Program (SBP), and any additional Federal child nutrition programs. The meals will be appealing and attractive to children and will meet, at a minimum, the nutrition requirements established by local, state and federal statutes and regulations. 

Nutrition professionals will administer the school meal programs. Professional development activities are essential for all food service staff and these staff will comply with annual continuing education training requirements as listed in the USDA Professional Standards for Child Nutrition Professionals. 

The food service program, to the extent possible, will support the sustainability of a Farm to School program through activities such as purchasing and featuring locally grown foods on the menus.  

Schools will offer healthy choices for their students. Outside of the standards for the school meals program, schools will offer a variety of healthy foods meeting the Nutrition Standards. 

Competitive Foods and Beverages 

The foods and beverages sold and served outside of the school meal programs (e.g., “competitive” foods and beverages) will meet the USDA Smart Snacks in School nutrition standards, at a minimum. 

To support healthy food choices and improve student health and well-being, all foods and beverages outside the reimbursable school meal programs that are sold to students on the school campus during the school day will meet or exceed the USDA Smart Snacks nutrition standards or, if the state policy is stronger, will meet or exceed state nutrition standards. These standards will apply in all locations and through all services where foods and beverages are sold, which may include, but are not limited to, à la carte options in cafeterias, vending machines, school stores and snack or food carts. 

Celebrations and Rewards 

All foods offered on the school campus will meet or exceed the USDA Smart Snacks in School nutrition standards or, if the state policy is stronger, will meet or exceed state nutrition standards, including through: 

1. Celebrations and parties. The District will provide a list of healthy party ideas to parents and teachers, including non-food celebration ideas. 
2. Classroom snacks brought by parents. The District will provide or make available to parents a list of foods and beverages that meet Smart Snacks nutrition standards.
3. Rewards and incentives. The District will provide teachers and other relevant school staff a list of alternative ways to reward children or other comparable resources. Foods and beverages will not be used as a reward, or withheld as punishment for any reason, such as for performance or behavior. 

The District will encourage all staff to ensure that all foods offered on the school campus will meet or exceed the USDA Smart Snacks in School nutrition standards, subject to appropriate exceptions made by the Superintendent or the Superintendent’s designee. 

Fundraising 

Foods and beverages that meet or exceed the USDA Smart Snacks in Schools nutrition standards may be sold through District-approved fundraisers on the school campus during the school day. 

Nutrition Promotion 

Nutrition promotion and education positively influence lifelong eating behaviors by using evidence-based techniques and nutrition messages, and by creating food environments that encourage healthy nutrition choices and encourage participation in school meal programs. Students and staff will receive consistent nutrition messages throughout schools, classrooms, gymnasiums, and cafeterias. Nutrition promotion also includes marketing and advertising nutritious foods and beverages to students and is most effective when implemented consistently through a comprehensive and multi-channel approach by school staff, teachers, parents, students and the community. 

Food and Beverage Marketing in Schools 

Any foods and beverages marketed or promoted to students on the school campus during the school day will meet or exceed the USDA Smart Snacks in School nutrition standards or, if stronger, state nutrition standards, such that only those foods that comply with or exceed those nutrition standards are permitted to be marketed or promoted to students. 

Food and beverage marketing is defined as advertising and other promotions in schools. This term includes, but is not limited to the following: 

1. Brand names, trademarks, logos or tags, except when placed on a physically present food or beverage product or its container.
2. Displays, such as on vending machine exteriors.
3. Corporate brand, logo, name or trademark on school equipment, such as marquees, message boards, scoreboards or backboards.
4. Corporate brand, logo, name or trademark on cups used for beverage dispensing, menu boards, coolers, trash cans and other food service equipment; as well as on posters, book covers, pupil assignment books or school supplies displayed, distributed, offered or sold by the District.
5. Advertisements in school publications or school mailings.
6. Free product samples, taste tests or coupons of a product, or free samples displaying advertising of a product. 

As the District/school nutrition services/Athletics Department/PTA/PTO reviews existing contracts and considers new contracts, equipment and product purchasing (and replacement) decisions should reflect the applicable marketing guidelines established by the District wellness policy. 

Other School Based Activities that Promote Student Wellness: 

Schools shall provide, for all students and staff, an environment promoting clear and consistent wellness messages that explain and reinforce healthy eating and being physically active. Students shall have adequate space to eat meals in pleasant surroundings and have time to eat, relax and socialize in a friendly, safe and orderly atmosphere. 

Legal Reference:

Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, 42 U.S.C. section 1758b; 7 CFR sections 210.11 and 210.30; National School Lunch Program, 42 U.S.C sections 1751-1760, 1770; Regulations and Procedures for Accreditation of Schools, NDE Rule 10