As required by law, the Board of Education establishes the following wellness policy for the Perry Local School District 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 District'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.
The Board, however, believes this effort to support the students' development of healthy behaviors and habits with regard to eating and exercise cannot be accomplished by the schools alone. 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, the District shall:
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| | | 1. | 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.
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| | | 2. | Nutrition education shall include opportunities for appropriate student projects related to nutrition, involving, when possible, community agencies and organizations.
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| | | 3. | Nutrition education shall extend beyond the classroom by engaging and involving the school's food service staff.
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| | | 4. | Nutrition education posters, such as the Food Pyramid Guide, will be displayed in the cafeteria.
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| | | 5. | 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.
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| | | 6. | Nutrition education shall extend beyond the school by engaging and involving families and the community.
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| | | 7. | The District shall provide information to parents that is designed to encourage them to reinforce at home the standards and benchmarks being taught in the classroom.
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| | B. | With regard to physical activity, the District shall:
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| | | | a. | A sequential, comprehensive physical education program shall be provided for students in K-12 in accordance with the standards and benchmarks established by the State.
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| | | | b. | The physical education curriculum shall provide sequential instruction related to the knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary to participate in lifelong, health-enhancing physical activity.
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| | | | c. | 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.
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| | | | d. | The sequential, comprehensive physical education curriculum shall stress the importance of remaining physically active for life.
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| | | | e. | The K-12 program shall include instruction in physical education as well as opportunities to participate in competitive and non-competitive team sports to encourage lifelong physical activity.
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| | | | f. | Properly certificated, highly qualified teachers shall provide all instruction in physical education.
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| | | | g. | Planned instruction in physical education shall teach cooperation, fair play, and responsible participation.
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| | | | h. | Planned instruction in physical education shall meet the needs of all students, including those who are not athletically gifted.
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| | | | i. | Planned instruction in physical education shall be presented in an environment free of embarrassment, humiliation, shaming, taunting, or harassment of any kind.
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| | | | j. | Planned instruction in physical education shall include cooperative as well as competitive games.
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| | | | k. | Planned instruction in physical education shall take into account gender and cultural differences.
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| | | | l. | Planned instruction in physical education shall promote participation in physical activity outside the regular school day.
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| | | | a. | Schools shall encourage families to provide physical activity outside the regular school day, such as outdoor play at home, participation in sports sponsored by community agencies or organizations, and in lifelong physical activities like bowling, swimming, or tennis.
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| | | | b. | All students in grades 7 -12 shall have the opportunity to participate in interscholastic sports programs.
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| | | | c. | All before/after-school programs shall provide developmentally appropriate physical activity for the students who participate.
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| | C. | With regard to other school-based activities the District shall:
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| | | 1. | The schools shall schedule mealtimes so there is minimum disruption by bus schedules, recess, and other special programs or events.
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| | | 2. | The school shall provide attractive, clean environments in which the students eat.
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| | | 3. | Activities, such as tutoring or club meetings, shall not be scheduled during mealtimes, unless students may eat during those meetings.
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| | | 4. | 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.
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| | | 5. | The schools may use environmentally friendly practices, such as the use of locally grown foods and non-disposable tableware and dishes.
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| | | 6. | 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.
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| | | 7. | The schools may demonstrate support for the health of all students by hosting health clinics and screenings and encouraging parents to enroll their eligible children in Medicaid or in other children’s health insurance programs for which they may qualify.
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| | | 8. | 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.
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| | | 9. | 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.
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| | D. | With regard to nutrition promotion, the District shall:
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| | | 1. | create an environment that reinforces the development of healthy eating habits, including offering the following healthy foods:
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| | | | a. | a variety of fresh produce to include those prepared without added fats, sugars, refined sugars, and sodium;
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| | | | b. | a variety of vegetables daily to include specific subgroups as defined by dark green, red/orange, legumes, and starchy;
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| | | 2. | provide opportunities for students to develop the knowledge and skills for consuming healthful foods.
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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.
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| | 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).
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| | 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.
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| | 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.
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| | E. | 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.
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| | F. | Continuing professional development shall be provided for all staff of the food service program.
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The Board designates the Superintendent and/or his/her designee with the assistance of the building principals as the individual(s) charged with operational responsibility for measuring and evaluating the District's implementation and progress under this policy. The Superintendent shall develop administrative guidelines necessary to implement this policy.
The Superintendent shall appoint a District-wide Wellness Committee that includes parents, students, representatives of the school food authority, educational staff (including physical education teachers), school health professionals, members of the public, and school administrators to oversee development, implementation, evaluation and periodic update of this policy. The Wellness Committee shall be an ad hoc committee with members recruited and appointed annually.
The Wellness Committee shall be responsible for:
| | A. | assessment of the current school environment;
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| | B. | review of the District’s Wellness policy;
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| | C. | presentation of the Wellness policy to the Board for approval;
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| | D. | measurement of the implementation of the policy; and
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| | E. | recommendation for the revision of the policy, is necessary.
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Before the end of each school year, the Wellness Committee shall recommend to the Superintendent any revisions to the policy it deems necessary and/or appropriate.
The Superintendent shall report annually to the Board on the Wellness Committee’s progress and on its evaluation of the policy’s implementation and areas for improvement, including status of compliance by individual schools and progress made in attaining the policy’s goals.
42 U.S.C. 1751, Sec. 204
42 U.S.C. 1771
Adopted 7/25/06
Revised 12/17/13