8510 - WELLNESS

Greater Clark County School Corporation

Bylaws & Policies

8510 - WELLNESS

As required by law, the School Board establishes the following wellness policy for the School Corporation as a part of a comprehensive wellness initiative.

The Board recognizes that good nutrition and regular physical activity affect the health and well-being of the Corporation's students. Furthermore, research suggests that there is a positive correlation between a student's health and well-being and his/her ability to learn. Moreover, schools can play an important role in the developmental process by which students establish their health and nutrition habits by providing nutritious meals and snacks through the schools' meal programs, by supporting the development of good eating habits, and by promoting increased physical activity both in and out of school.

Schools alone, however, cannot develop in students healthy behaviors and habits with regard to eating and exercise. It will be necessary for not only the staff but also parents and the public at large to be involved in a community-wide effort to promote, support, and model such healthy behaviors and habits.

The Board sets the following goals in an effort to enable students to establish good health and nutrition habits:

A.	With regard to nutrition education:

	1.	Nutrition education shall be included in the health curriculum so that instruction is sequential and standards-based and provides students with the knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary to lead healthy lives.

	2.	Nutrition education standards and benchmarks shall be age-appropriate and culturally relevant.

	3.	Nutrition education shall include enjoyable, developmentally appropriate and culturally relevant participatory activities, such as contests, promotions, taste testing, and others.


	4.	Nutrition education shall extend beyond the classroom by engaging and involving the school's food service staff.

	5.	Nutrition education posters, such as "My Plate" Guide, will be displayed in the cafeteria.

	6.	The school cafeteria shall serve as a learning lab by allowing students to apply the knowledge, attitudes, and skills taught in the classroom when making choices at mealtime.

	7.	Nutrition education shall reinforce lifelong balance by emphasizing the link between caloric intake (eating) and exercise in ways that are age-appropriate.

	8.	Nutrition education standards and benchmarks promote the benefits of a balanced diet that includes fruits, vegetables, whole grain products, and low-fat and fat-free dairy products.

	9.	The Corporation shall provide information to parents that is designed to encourage them to reinforce at home the standards and benchmarks being taught in the classroom.

B.	With regard to physical activity, the Corporation shall:

	1.	Physical Education

		a.	A sequential, comprehensive physical education program shall be provided for students in K-12 in accordance with the physical education academic content standards and benchmarks adopted by the State.

		b.	The sequential, comprehensive physical education curriculum shall provide students with opportunities to learn, practice, and be assessed on developmentally appropriate knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary to engage in lifelong, health-enhancing physical activity.


			c.	Planned instruction in physical education shall be sufficient for students to achieve a proficient level with regard to the standards and benchmarks adopted by the State.

			d.	Planned instruction in physical education shall promote participation in physical activity outside the regular school day.

			e.	All students in grades K-12, including those with disabilities, special health care needs and in alternative educational settings (to the extent consistent with the students' IEPs), shall receive physical education according to Indiana State Standards.

			f.	The physical education curriculum shall provide sequential instruction related to the knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary to participate in lifelong, health-enhancing physical activity.

			g.	Physical education classes shall provide students with opportunities to learn, practice, and be assessed on developmentally appropriate knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary to engage in lifelong, health-enhancing physical activity.

			h.	The sequential, comprehensive physical education curriculum shall stress the importance of remaining physically active for life.

			i.	Teachers properly certificated/licensed in the subject area of physical education shall provide all instruction in physical education.

			j.	Professional development opportunities should focus on the physical education content area.


	k.	All physical education classes shall have a student/teacher ratio comparable to the student/teacher ratio in other curricular areas.

	l.	Planned instruction in physical education shall teach cooperation, fair play, and responsible participation.

	m.	Planned instruction in physical education shall meet the needs of all students.

	n.	Planned instruction in physical education shall be presented in an environment free of embarrassment, humiliation, shaming, taunting, bullying, or harassment of any kind.

2.	Physical Activity

	a.	Physical activity shall not be employed as a form of discipline or punishment.

	b.	Physical activity and movement shall be integrated, when possible, across the curricula and throughout the school day.

	c.	All students in grades K-8 shall be provided with a daily recess or other form of physical activity period at least twenty (20) minutes in duration. Recess shall not be used as a reward or punishment.

	d.	The school shall encourage families and community organizations to help develop and institute programs that support physical activity of all sorts.

	e.	The school shall provide students in grades 9-12 with the opportunity to use physical activity in which they participate outside the regular school day (other than organized interscholastic athletics) to satisfy physical activity requirements.


		f.	In addition to planned physical education, the school shall provide age-appropriate physical activities (e.g., recess during the school day, intramurals and clubs before and after school, and interscholastic sports) that meet the needs of all students, including males, females, students with disabilities, and students with special health care needs.

		g.	All before/after-school programs shall provide developmentally appropriate physical activity for the students who participate.

		h.	Schools shall discourage extended periods of student inactivity without some physical activity.

C.	With regard to other school-based activities:

	1.	The schools shall provide at least twenty (20) minutes daily for students to eat.

	2.	The schools shall schedule mealtimes so there is minimum disruption by bus schedules, recess, and other special programs or events.

	3.	The school shall provide attractive, clean environments in which the students eat.

	4.	Schools shall limit the number of celebrations involving serving food during the school day to no more than two 92) parties per class per year during the last forty-five (45) minutes of the day.

	5.	Students, parents, and other community members shall have access to, and be encouraged to use, the school's outdoor physical activity facilities outside the normal school day.

	6.	An organized wellness program shall be available to all staff.


	7.	The schools may use environmentally friendly practices, such as the use of locally grown foods and non-disposable tableware and dishes.

	8.	The schools may provide opportunities for staff, parents, and other community members to model healthy eating habits by dining with students in the school dining areas.

	9.	Schools in our system utilize electronic identification and payment systems, therefore, eliminating any stigma or identification of students eligible to receive free and/or reduced meals.

	10.	Students are discouraged from sharing their foods or beverages with one another during meal times, given concerns about allergies and other restrictions on some students' diets.

	11.	Parents are encouraged to provide nutritionally appropriate meals for students when not purchasing school lunches.

	12.	Vending machines will be used in accordance with USDA Standards.

D.	With regard to nutrition promotion, the Corporation shall:

	1.	encourage students to increase their consumption of healthful foods during the school day;

	2.	create an environment that reinforces the development of healthy eating habits, including offering the following healthy foods:

		a.	a variety of fresh produce to include those prepared without added fats, sugars, refined sugars, and sodium


		b.	whole grain products - half of all grains need to be whole grain-rich upon initial implementation and all grains must be whole grain-rich within two (2) years of implementation

		c.	fluid milk that is fat-free (unflavored and flavored) and low-fat (unflavored)

		d.	meals designed to meet specific calorie ranges for age/grade groups

E.	All foods and beverages sold as fund raisers outside of the school meals program during the regular and extended school day shall meet the USDA Competitive Food regulations.

F.	Discourage rewarding children in the classroom with candy and other foods that can undermine children�s diets and health and reinforce unhealthy eating habits. A wide variety of alternative rewards can be used to provide positive reinforcement for children�s behavior and academic performance.

Furthermore, with the objectives of enhancing student health and well being, and reducing childhood obesity, the following guidelines are established:

	A.	In accordance with Policy 8500, entitled Food Service, the food service program shall comply with Federal and State regulations pertaining to the selection, preparation, consumption, and disposal of food and beverages as well as to the fiscal management of the program.

	B.	As set forth in Policy 8531, entitled Free and Reduced Price Meals, the guidelines for reimbursable school meals are not less restrictive than the guidelines issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).


	C.	The food service program will strive to be financially self-supporting; however, if it is necessary to subsidize the operation, it will not be through the sale of foods with minimal nutritious value.

	D.	The food service program will provide all students affordable access to the varied and nutritious foods they need to be healthy and to learn well.

	E.	All food items and beverages available for sale to students for consumption on campus will follow the USDA Standards required by the healthy Hunger Free Act of 2010.

	F.	The school food service program may involve students, parents, staff, and school officials in the selection of competitive food items to be sold in the schools.

	G.	All foods available to students in Corporation programs, other than the food service program, shall be served with consideration for promoting student health and well-being.

	H.	Each classroom party held during the school day shall include food or beverage that meets the current USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

	I.	The food service program shall be administered by a qualified nutrition professional.

	J.	All food service personnel shall receive pre-service training in food service operations.

The Board designates the Superintendent as the individual(s) charged with operational responsibility for measuring and evaluating the Corporation's implementation and progress under this policy.

The Superintendent shall appoint a Corporation wellness committee that includes parents, students, representatives of the school food authority, nutritionists or certified dieticians, educational staff (including physical education teachers), school health professionals, the School Board, school administrators, and members of the public to oversee the development, implementation, evaluation, and periodic update, if necessary, of the wellness policy.

The Superintendent shall be an ex officio member of the committee.

The wellness committee shall be an ad hoc committee of the Board with members recruited and appointed annually.

The wellness committee shall:

	A.	assess the current environment in each of the Corporation�s schools;

	B.	measure the implementation of the Corporation�s wellness policy in each of the Corporation�s schools;

	C.	review the Corporation�s current wellness policy;

	D.	recommend revision of the policy, as appropriate; and

	E.	present the wellness policy, with any recommended revisions, to the Board for approval or re-adoption if revisions are recommended.

Before the end of each school year the wellness committee shall submit to the Superintendent and Board their report in which they describe the environment in each of the Corporation�s schools and the implementation of the wellness policy in each school, and identify any revisions to the policy the committee deems necessary.

The Superintendent shall report annually to the Board on the work of the wellness committee, including their assessment of the environment in the Corporation, their evaluation of wellness policy implementation Corporation-wide, and the areas for improvement, if any, that the committee identified. The committee also shall report on the status of compliance by individual schools and progress made in attaining goals established in the policy.

The Superintendent shall also be responsible for informing the public, including parents, students and community members, on the content and implementation of this policy. In order to inform the public, the Superintendent shall provide information on the Corporation's website and post the wellness policy on the Corporation�s website, including the assessment of the implementation of the policy prepared by the Corporation.

I.C. 20-26-9-18
42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.
42 U.S.C. 1758b
42 U.S.C. 1771 et seq.
7 C.F.R. Parts 210 and 220

Revised 10/18/16
Revised 11/7/17