Metropolitan School District of Decatur Township
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 shall be included in the sequential, comprehensive health curriculum in accordance with the curriculum standards and benchmarks established by the State.

   
 

3.

Nutrition education shall be integrated into other subject areas of the curriculum, when appropriate, to complement, but not replace, the standards and benchmarks for health education.

     
 

4.

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

   
 

5.

The standards and benchmarks for nutrition education shall be behavior focused.

   
 

6.

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

   
 

7.

Nutrition education shall include opportunities for appropriate student projects related to nutrition, involving, when possible, community agencies and organizations.

   
 

8.

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

   
 

9.

Nutrition education shall extend beyond the school by engaging and involving families and the community.

   
 

10.

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

   
 

11.

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.

   
 

12.

Instruction related to the standards and benchmarks for nutrition education shall be provided by highly qualified teachers.

     
 

B.

With regard to physical activity:

   
 

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.

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

   
 

f.

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.

     
 

g.

Planned instruction in physical education shall meet the needs of all students, including those who are not athletically gifted.

   
 

h.

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

     
 

i.

Planned instruction in physical education shall include cooperative as well as competitive games.

   
 

2.

Physical Activity

   
 

Schools shall offer a wide range of physical activities outside the regular school day that meet the needs, interests, and abilities of all students, including males, females, students with disabilities, and students with special healthcare needs.

   
 

C.

With regard to other school-based activities:

   
 

An organized wellness program shall be available to all staff.

     
 

D.

With regard to nutrition promotion, 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.

   
 

Additionally, 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.

a variety of vegetables daily to include specific subgroups as defined by dark green, red/orange, legumes, and starchy

   
 

c.

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

   
 

d.

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

   
 

e.

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

   
 

3.

eliminate trans-fat from school meals;

   
 

4.

require students to select a fruit or vegetable as part of a complete reimbursable meal;

   
 

5.

provide opportunities for students to develop the knowledge and skills for consuming healthful foods;

     
 

6.

promote and encourage Farm to School efforts through its nutrition department in order to provide the healthy foods identified above;

   
 

7.

require that all foods and beverages sold as fundraisers on the school campus during the school day shall meet the USDA Competitive Food regulations;

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.

The sale of foods of minimal nutritional value in the food service area during the lunch period is prohibited.

   
 

C.

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).

     
 

D.

The sale to students of foods and beverages that do not meet the USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the USDA Smart Snacks in School nutrition standards to be consumed on the school campus during the school day is prohibited. Competitive foods available for purchase by students à la carte in the dining area, foods or beverages sold from vending machines, and foods and beverages provided by the school or school staff for classroom parties or holiday celebrations are subject to this prohibition.

     
 

E.

All foods that are provided, not sold, on the school campus during the school day, including foods and beverages provided for classroom parties or holiday celebrations shall comply with the food and beverage standards approved by the Child Nutrition Director.

     
 

F.

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.

   
 

G.

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.

   
 

H.

All food items and beverages available for sale to students for consumption on campus between midnight and thirty (30) after the close of the regular school day shall comply with the current USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans, including, but not limited to, competitive foods that are available to students à la carte in the dining area, as well as food items and beverages from vending machines, school stores, or fund-raisers by student clubs and organizations, parent groups, or boosters clubs.

   
 

I.

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

   
 

J.

Any food items sold thirty (30) minutes after the school day ends in a fundraiser by approved student clubs and organizations and Corporation support organizations shall meet the current USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

   
 

K.

The food service program shall be administered by a director who is properly qualified, certificated, licensed, or credentialed, according to current professional standards.

   
 

L.

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

   
 

M.

Continuing professional development shall be provided for all staff of the food service program.

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

The Child Nutrition Director shall appoint a Corporation wellness committee that includes meets at least two (2) times per year and 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 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. In its review, the Wellness Committee shall consider evidence-based strategies in determining its recommendations.

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.

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

Adopted 5/9/06
Revised 3/8/16
Revised 12/13/16
Revised 11/14/17

© Neola 2017