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Policy 568: School Wellness

I.          INTRODUCTION AND DEFINITIONS

Aberdeen School District No. 58 endeavors to establish a school environment that promotes students’ health, well-being, and the ability to learn. The goal of the board is to encourage a healthy lifestyle for students through the promotion of nutritious foods and physical activity, nutrition education, and other school-based activities that promote school wellness.  The district will engage students, parents, teachers, food service professionals, health professionals, and other interested community members in developing, implementing, monitoring, and reviewing this and other related school wellness policies.

This policy outlines the district’s approach to ensuring environments and opportunities for all students to practice healthy eating and physical activity behaviors throughout the school day.  Specifically, this policy establishes goals and procedures to ensure that:

  • Students in the district have access to healthy foods throughout the school day in accordance with federal and state nutrition standards;
  • Students receive quality nutrition education that helps them develop lifelong healthy eating behaviors;
  • Students have opportunities to be physically active before, during and after school;
  • Schools engage in nutrition and physical activity promotion and other activities that promote student wellness;
  • School staff are encouraged and supported to practice healthy nutrition and physical activity behaviors in and out of school;
  • The community is engaged in supporting the work of the district in creating continuity between school and other settings for students and staff to practice lifelong healthy habits; and
  • The district establishes and maintains an infrastructure for management, oversight, implementation, communication about and monitoring of the policy and its established goals and objectives.

DEFINITIONS

“Competitive Food” means all food and beverages other than meals reimbursed under programs authorized by the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act and the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 available for sale to students on the school campus during the school day.

“Extended School Day” means the time during, before and after school that includes but is not limited to activities such as clubs, intramural sports, band and choir practice, drama rehearsals.

“School Campus” means all 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.

“Triennial” means recurring every three (3) years.

“School Day” means the period from the midnight before, to 30 minutes after, the end of the official school day.

II.        NUTRITION EDUCATION AND PROMOTION

The district’s school nutrition programs will prepare and serve nutritious, well-balanced, and age-appropriate meals, á la carte foods, snacks, and beverages that meet the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) school meal pattern guidelines, which are based off of the U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans.  In order to adhere to these nutrition standards, the school nutrition program will contain a variety of grains, fruits, vegetables, and be low in saturated fat, cholesterol, sugars, and sodium.  Water will be available to students at no charge in the place where meals are served during meal service.

The district will either employ, or consult with, registered dieticians to ensure the school nutrition programs serve food in compliance with the USDA nutrition standards.  The director of food services shall solicit feedback from students, staff, and parents regarding the offered food and beverages.  Nutritional information such as calories, saturated fat, and sodium content of foods shall be made available in the cafeteria and the district website.

Each school will provide adequate time to eat during meal periods.  Students will have at least ten (10) minutes to eat breakfast and at least twenty (20) minutes to each lunch once they are seated.  Lunch will follow the recess period to better support the consumption of healthy foods and improve learning opportunities.  To the extent possible, school, recess, and transportation schedules will be designed to encourage participation in school meal programs.  Teachers are discouraged from scheduling tutoring, club, or organizational meetings or activities during mealtimes, unless the student(s) may eat during such activities.

The director of food services will develop and utilize a full hazard analysis and critical control points (HAACP) plan to ensure food safety practices are implemented and followed.

To the maximum extent practicable, all schools in this district will participate in available federal school meal programs, including the School Breakfast Program (SBP), National School Lunch Program (NSLP), Summer Food Service Program (SFSP), Fruit and Vegetable Snack Program, and Child and Adult Care Food Program.

School meals served through the NSLP and SBP programs, and other applicable federal child nutrition programs, will meet or exceed nutrition and meal pattern requirements established by local, state, and federal statutes and regulations.

FREE AND REDUCED-PRICE FOOD SERVICES

The district will provide free and reduced-price breakfasts and lunches to students according to the terms of the NSLP and SBP programs and the laws and rules of the state.  The district will inform parents or guardians of the eligibility standards for free and reduced-price meals. 

NUTRITION PROMOTION

The district will be proactive in encouraging students to make nutritious food and beverage choices, as well as encouraging participation in school meal programs, utilizing nutrition promotion techniques such as:

1.   Encouraging staff to model healthy eating and drinking behaviors.

2.   Utilizing Smarter Lunchroom techniques, such as signage and product placement, when appropriate and attainable.

3.   Sharing nutrient information with students, staff, and parents at the point of service and district website.

4.   Offering taste-testing and menu planning opportunities to students to teach them about healthy fruit and vegetable options and solicit input on preferences.

5.   Participating in Farm to School Activities and/or implementing a school garden.

NUTRITION EDUCATION

The board will adopt and implement a comprehensive health and physical education curriculum consistent with the Idaho standards for health and physical education.  The district will review and consider evidence-based strategies in implementing its nutrition education program, consistent with USDA guidelines.  Additional standards-based nutrition education will be offered in each grade as either a stand-alone unit or integrated into other core subjects, such as math, science, language arts, and social sciences.  Additionally, as part of its nutrition education program the district will:

  1. Include curriculum that links nutrition education with the school food environment and focus on behavior-focused skills, such as meal planning, recognizing food groups within a meal, understanding health information and food labels to evaluate the nutrient quality and contribution of foods. 
  2. Include nutrition and health posters, signage, or displays in the cafeteria food service and dining areas, classrooms, hallways, gymnasiums, and/or bulletin boards that are frequently rotated, updated, or changed.
  3. Provide developmentally appropriate and culturally relevant participatory activities, such as contests, surveys, promotions, food demonstrations and taste-testing, voting for school recipe names, cafeteria design or décor challenges, farm visits, and school gardens.
  4. Offer information to families utilizing USDA’s local school wellness policy outreach toolkit and other resources that encourage them to teach their children about health and nutrition, and assist them in planning nutritious meals for their families through handouts, newsletters, Parent Teacher Association/Organization (PTA/PTO) updates, website postings, and presentations.
  5. Provide information on any additional school- or community-sponsored wellness activities, events, or services.
  6. Promote fruits, vegetables, whole-grain products, low-fat and fat-free dairy products and healthy food preparation methods.
  7. Emphasize caloric balance between food intake and energy expenditure (promotes physical activity/exercise).
  8. Includes nutrition education training for teachers and other staff.

III.       PHYSICAL ACTIVITY

The district’s goal is to provide opportunities for every student to develop the knowledge and skills for specific physical activities; maintain physical fitness; reduce sedentary time; learn about cooperation, fair play, and responsible participation that meets the needs of all students at all levels of physical ability; and gain an appreciation for lifelong physical activity through a healthy lifestyle.  To this end, the district will provide students with physical education, using an age appropriate, sequential physical education curriculum consistent with national and state standards for physical education. 

All students will be provided an equal opportunity to participate in physical education classes.  The district will make appropriate accommodations to allow for equitable participation for all students and will adapt physical education classes and equipment as necessary.

The physical education curriculum will be aligned with state and national standards for physical education and be taught by a certified physical education teacher.  Class sizes will be limited to a maximum of thirty (30) students per instructor and be offered daily.  Waivers, exemptions, and substitutions will be considered on a case-by-case basis.  A student substituting physical education must demonstrate proficiency of physical education standards. 

In addition to offering physical education, the district will provide other opportunities for physical activity for each grade level by utilizing a comprehensive physical activity program (CSPAP) plan which encompasses:

  1. Daily recess for elementary school students and classroom-based physical activity breaks to increase focus or teach academic content via physical movement for all students.
  2. Active transportation to and from school.
  3. Opportunities for physical activity before and after school, such as intramural programs, interscholastic sports, and competitive and non-competitive extracurricular clubs with a physical activity emphasis.
  4. Engaging staff, families, and communities to join and support physical activity initiatives.
  5. Promotion of physical fitness for students, parents, and community members through joint or shared-use agreements with governmental entities and community organizations that allow school and/or community-based organizations to use the school facilities for physical activity and recreation programs outside of school hours.

The district’s physical education program will promote student physical fitness through individualized fitness and activity assessments (through the Presidential Youth Fitness Program or other appropriate assessment tool) and will use criterion-based reporting for each student. 

Teachers and other school personnel are prohibited from withholding opportunities for physical activity such as recess or physical education as punishment.  Physical activities, such as push-ups or running, will not be used as a disciplinary measure as this serves to decrease a student’s intrinsic motivation to pursue these activities.

OTHER SCHOOL-BASED WELLNESS ACTIVITIES

District goals regarding other school-based wellness activities will include:

  1. Offering staff wellness activities and professional development opportunities related to health and nutrition that inspire school staff to serve as role models and practice healthy eating, physical activity, and other activities that support staff and student wellness.
  2. Applying for or being awarded state and/or national awards and grants that support a healthy school environment (e.g., Healthier US School Challenge, or Fuel Up to Play 60 grants).
  3. Sponsoring health fairs, no screen-time week, (2) school-supported events (e.g., races, family wellness activities, or family day activities that promote health and wellness).
  4. Incorporating school garden, Farm to School or Farm to Cafeteria, or Chefs Move to Schools activities that promote healthy eating via student participation.
  5. Initiating and sustaining a recycling/environmental stewardship program.
  6. Providing students, parents and staff with mental health resources and prevention program information.
  7. Evaluating the barriers to implementing Safe Routes to School to make it safer and easier for students to walk and bike to school.

IV.       WELLNESS POLICY IMPLEMENTATION, MONITORING, ACCOUNTABILITY AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

IMPLEMENTATION

The district will develop and maintain a plan for implementation to manage and coordinate the execution of this wellness policy.  The plan delineates roles, responsibilities, actions and timelines specific to each school, and includes information about who will be responsible to make what change, by how much, where an when, as well as specific goals and objectives for nutrition standards for all foods and beverages available on the school 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 (https://schools.healthiergeneration.org) 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.

RECORDKEEPING

The district will retain records to document compliance with the requirements of the wellness policy at the district’s administrative offices. Documentation maintained at this location will include, but is not limited to:

  • The written wellness policy;
  • Documentation demonstrating that the policy and triennial assessment have been made available to the public (e.g. screenshots of the district’s webpage showing the policy and triennial assessment, or other electronic documentation, copies of correspondence, etc.);
  • Documentation of efforts to review and update the policy, including who was involved in the process and how stakeholders were made aware of their ability to participate (e.g. wellness committee meeting minutes, notification correspondence, etc.);
  • The most recent assessment of implementation of the wellness policy.

MONITORING

The superintendent or designee, together with the wellness committee, is responsible for monitoring and updating this policy based on the triennial assessments 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. 

Each building principal or designee will monitor and ensure compliance with this policy in the school and report such compliance to the superintendent or designee.  The director of food services will monitor and ensure that the food service program complies with nutrition guidelines set forth in this policy and state and federal regulations, and will report such compliance to the superintendent or designee.  The wellness policy will be assessed and updated as indicated at least every three (3) years, following the triennial assessment.  Reporting of adherence to the wellness policy shall take place yearly.

NOTICE

The district will include this policy and policy updates in the student handbook and provide each student and parent/guardian with a copy of the student handbook upon enrolling in classes each year.  The policy will also be posted on the district website under board policies and the Nutrition Services homepage.

TRIENNIAL PROGRESS ASSESSMENT

On a triennial basis, the wellness committee will conduct an assessment and develop a summary report on district-wide compliance with this policy based upon input from school within the district.  The assessment and report will include the following:

  • The extent to which schools under the jurisdiction of the district are in compliance with the wellness policy;
  • The extent to which the district’s wellness policy compares to model wellness policies; and
  • A description of the progress made in attaining the goals of the district’s wellness policy.

The report will be made available to the public at the district office and posted on the district’s website, as well as provided to the school board, the school wellness committee(s), parent/teacher organizations, school administrators, and school health services personnel in the district.

To assist with the development of the district’s wellness policy, each school in the district will conduct a baseline assessment of the school’s existing nutrition and physical activity practices.  The results of the assessments will be compiled at the district level to prioritize needs and determine goals to implement.  This information will also be used to measure the school’s progress toward achieving its wellness goals.

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT, OUTREACH AND COMMUNICATIONS

The district is committed to being responsive to community input, which begins with awareness of the wellness policy.  The district will actively communicate ways in which representatives of the wellness committee, families and others can participate in the development, implementation, and periodic review and update of the wellness policy through a variety of channels including but not limited to:  electronic mail, the district’s website, social media, correspondence with parents, newsletters, and presentation to parents.  The district will also inform parents 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 nutrition standards, including Smart Snacks in School.  The district will also actively notify the public through the channels identified above about the content of or any updates to the wellness policy, on an annual basis, at a minimum.

SCHOOL WELLNESS COMMITTEE

The district will convene a representative district wellness committee that meets at least four (4) times per year [or specify more frequent meeting schedule] to establish goals for and oversee school health and safety policies and programs, including development, implementation, and periodic review and update of this district-level wellness policy.

The committee membership will represent all school levels (elementary and secondary schools) and include (to the extent possible), but not be limited to:  school administrators (e.g. superintendent, principals, vice-principals);  school board members; physical education teachers; health education teachers; school health professionals (e.g. health education teachers, school health services staff including nurses, psychiatrists, social workers); food service employees and other representatives of the school nutrition program (e.g. school nutrition director); students; parents and caregivers; health professionals; and community members. 

The Superintendent or designee(s) will convene the wellness committee and facilitate development of and updates to the wellness policy, and will ensure each school’s compliance with the policy.  The name(s), title(s) and email contact information for the committee members is available at the district administration offices.

SCHOOL WELLNESS COORDINATOR

The person(s) in Aberdeen School District No. 58 who is responsible for ensuring that each school is in compliance with this policy is:

Aberdeen high School Health Teacher

Aberdeen School District No. 58

268 S. $Th W

Aberdeen, ID 83210

Phone: (208) 397-4152

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LEGAL REFERENCE:

Section 204 of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 (PL 111-296), reauthorizing the Child Nutrition Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1758b (2010).

Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004, Pub. L. No. 108-265, § 204

42 U.S.C. § 1751, et seq.  – National School Lunch Act

42 U.S.C. § 1771, et seq. – Child Nutrition Act of 1966

7 CFR § 210.30 – Local School Wellness Policy

CROSS-REFERENCE:

770 – Food and Nutrition Services

772 – Nutrition Standards

774 – Guidelines for Food and Beverage Sales

ADOPTED:   January 13, 2025

AMENDED: 

Note:  This Wellness Policy was adapted from the Alliance for a Healthier Generation Model Wellness Policy, which can be accessed at: https://healthymeals.fns.usda.gov/local-wellness-policy-resources/local-school-wellness-policy-process/model-and-sample-policy, as well as the Sample Idaho Wellness Policy from the Idaho State Department of Education.  Additional resources regarding wellness policy process, wellness policy elements, grants/funding opportunities, training and success stories can be found at:  http://healthymeals.nal.usda.gov/school-wellness-resources