8510 - WELLNESS

Youngstown City School District

Bylaws & Policies

8510 - WELLNESS

As required by law, the Board of Education establishes the following wellness policy for the Youngstown City 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.

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, the District shall:

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

	3.	Nutrition education posters, such as the Food Pyramid Guide, will be displayed in the cafeteria.

	4.	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.


B.	With regard to physical activity, the District 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.	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 instruction in physical education.

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

		d.	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.

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

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

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

		h.	Planned instruction in physical education shall take into account gender and cultural differences.

		i.	On an annual basis, physical education teachers shall review and affirm receipt of the Ohio Department of Health’s concussion information sheet.


	2.	Physical Activity

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

		b.		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.

C.	With regard to other school-based activities the District shall:

	1.	The schools shall provide at least thirty (30) 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 in the Youngstown City School District system utilize electronic identification and payment systems, therefore, eliminating any stigma or identification of students eligible to receive free and/or reduced meals.
	5.	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.

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 provide all students affordable access to the varied and nutritious foods they need to be healthy and to learn well.

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

	E.	All food service personnel shall receive on-going training in food service operations.

The Board designates the Superintendent and 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;

	B.	review of the District’s Wellness policy;

	C.	presentation of the Wellness policy to the Board for approval;

	D.	measurement of the implementation of the policy; and

	E.	recommendation for the revision of the policy, is necessary.

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.

The Superintendent is also 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 distribute information at the beginning of the school year to families of school children, include information in the parent handbook, and post the policy on the District’s website, including the Wellness Committee’s assessment of the policy’s implementation.

42 U.S.C. 1751, Sec. 204
42 U.S.C. 1771

Adopted 6/27/06
Revised 1/10/12
Revised 12/10/13