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Wellness Policy

BP 5030
   
The Board of Trustees recognizes the link between student health and learning, and desires to provide a comprehensive program promoting healthy eating and physical activity for district students. The Superintendent or designee shall build a coordinated school health system that supports and reinforces health literacy through health education, physical education, health services, nutrition services, counseling services, health promotion for staff (e.g., health fairs and presentations), a safe and healthy school environment, and parent/guardian and community involvement
 
(cf. 0000 - Vision)
(cf. 0200 - Goals for the School District)
(cf. 3513.3 - Tobacco-Free Schools)
(cf. 3514 - Environmental Safety)
 
It is the policy of the district to educate students about nutrition and to provide each student access to a nutritious lunch each day. The district endeavors to promote health-consciousness and help students excel at learning through better nutrition. The district will strive to educate students in ways  that encourage them to establish and maintain life-long healthy eating habits that will benefit them and the larger community in which they live.
 
Goals
  1. Embrace and support the concept of "wellness" in the district by promoting nutrition education and physical fitness activities
  2. Assist students in self-regulating their food selections to minimize the consumption of less nutritious foods that compete with healthier choices at mealtime
  3. Strive to ensure that no student in the district lacks basic nutritional needs during the school day
  4. Ensure that all children who are eligible for the free lunch program are properly identified
  5. Maintain nutrient-based lunch menu planning (per USDA guidelines) to allow for more flexible food selection
  6. Serve meals in a pleasant environment with sufficient time for eating, while fostering good manners and respect for fellow students
  7. Integrate nutrition into the district's Education Program in health, science, and physical education curricula
  8. Maximize community resources to promote and support this policy. 
 
Responsibilities
The School Site Council may be empowered to serve as the Wellness Advisory Board (Advisory Board), or a separate Advisory Board will be established.  The Advisory Board will have the opportunity to work with site administrators to review the implementation of this policy under the direction of the Board.
 
Nutrition Education and Physical Activity Guidelines
The Advisory Board will have the option to  review, revise, and propose goals for nutrition education, physical activity, physical education, and other school-based activities that are designed to promote student wellness in a manner that the Board determines appropriate.
 
Nutrition education shall be provided as part of the health education program in all grades and, as appropriate, shall be integrated into core academic subjects. Three themes will be addressed throughout each school year in instruction to students and/or in parent/guardian communication:
  1. The importance of eating breakfast
  2. The role of good nutrition for good health
  3. The importance of physical activity (especially as it relates to preventing heart and other diseases and obesity).
All students shall be provided with reasonable opportunities to be physically active on a regular basis. Opportunities for moderate to vigorous physical activity shall be provided through physical education, recess, school athletic programs, extracurricular programs, after-school programs and other structured and unstructured activities.
  1. Students will have the opportunity to participate in a minimum of 100 minutes of structured physical activity and Physical Education per week (an average of 200 minutes every ten school days)
  2. Through the curriculum and activities provided through the Safe Routes to School Program--Walk and Roll to school day, bike rodeo, pedestrian and bike safety assemblies/lessons, Walking School Bus-students will learn about and be encouraged to participate in regular exercise that is healthful and ecologically sound
  3. Students will have the opportunity to take walking field trips, play games at recess, including soccer, basketball, tetherball, kickball, two touch and other activities.
Efforts will be made to integrate instruction in ecology, environmental stewardship, and energy conservation, using such activities as:
  1.  Recycling
  2. Elementary grade learning unit on Sharing the Planet and middle school PBL focused on Environmental Responsibility
  3. Safe Routes to School
  4. Science Lessons on Creek Study and Restoration or outdoor education opportunities
  5. Partners with other agencies, individuals and organizations to help promote and support this Wellness Policy.=
For Physical Activity Opportunities and Physical Education:
  1.  The district will foster a school environment that promotes and protects students' health, well-being, and ability to learn
  2. Classroom physical education and/or health education will provide students with knowledge of safe walking and bicycling practices and an understanding of the benefits of walking and bicycling to their own health and the health of the environment in order to establish and encourage life-long healthy transportation behavior
  3. Teachers shall be provided resources as requested to integrate safe pedestrian and bicycling education as well as the benefits of walking, bicycling and using alternative transportation (bus and/or carpool) to health and the environment, into the curriculum at all grade levels
  4. Second graders may be offered the Learn-to-Swim program through Rotary or will be offered another athletics opportunity
  5. Parents and students will be provided the results of home-to-school transportation analysis as well as recommended routes of travel for walking and bicycling/scootering to school when completed or updated by the Safe Routes to School or another program
  6. Schools will provide nutrition education and physical education to foster lifelong habits of healthy eating and physical activity, including safe pedestrian and bicycling habits, and will establish linkages between health education, garden programs, environmental education, and school meal programs, and with related community services, such as Safe Routes to School
  7. Parents will be given information each year regarding safe drop-off and pick-up of their children at school and the appropriate ingress and egress to the campuses during all times of day.
The Superintendent and/or Principals shall encourage staff to serve as positive role models (for personal wellness). The Superintendent and/or principals shall promote and may provide opportunities for regular physical activity, fitness Apps and the like for employees. Professional development opportunities provided shall include instructional strategies that assess health knowledge and skills, and promote healthy behaviors.
 
To encourage consistent health messages between the home and school environment, the Superintendent and principals shall periodically disseminate health information to parents/guardians through district or school newsletters, handouts, parent/guardian meetings, the district or school web site, and other communications. Outreach to parents/guardians shall emphasize the relationship between student health and peak academic performance.

The consistent marketing and advertising of non-nutritious foods and beverages through signage, vending machines, logos, scoreboards, school supplies, advertisements in school publications, coupon or incentive programs or other means is discouraged.
 
Nutrition Guidelines for Foods Available at School
The Advisory Board may review and propose nutrition guidelines for foods available on each campus during the school day, with the objectives of promoting student health and reducing childhood obesity.
Foods and beverages available to students at district schools should reasonably support the health curriculum and promote optimal health. Nutrition standards adopted by the district for all foods and beverages sold to students during the school day, including foods and beverages provided through the district's food service program, student stores, fundraisers, or other venues, shall meet or exceed state and federal nutrition standards. (School food sales may use pricing structure to encourage the choice of foods with better nutritional value.)
 
School organizations should use healthy food items or non-food items for fundraising purposes whenever possible, when such fundraisers take place on campus during the school day. School staff will be encouraged to avoid the use of foods as rewards for students' academic performance, accomplishments, or classroom behavior.
School staff shall encourage parents/guardians or other volunteers to support the district's nutrition education program by considering nutritional quality when selecting any snacks that they may send to school for the "snack" recess, and/or that they may donate for birthdays and occasional class parties. Ongoing efforts will be made to keep parents fully informed of this policy.
 
Guidelines for class parties and school events:
  1. Class parties or celebrations that involve food shall be held after the lunch period. On a limited basis, with prior approval of the school principal (to comply with the National School Lunch Program regulations), curriculum-related nutritious breakfast events may be approved provided that they take place before or during morning recess (allowing adequate time before lunch)
  2. If food is provided at the party/celebration, recommended foods and beverages are to be considered, to include: fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grain items, baked rather than fried snack foods, milk-based products such as yogurt, 1% and 2% milk, water, and 100% fruit juice. Teachers are encouraged to work with parents to determine the treat, requesting that only nutritious items be sent
  3. Teachers and parents are encouraged to plan a game, craft, or activity for the event so that party food/refreshments are not the sole focus of the celebration.
  4. Healthy food guidelines shall be offered to families that wish to bring food items to events.
Foods and beverages provided through federally reimbursable school meal programs shall meet or exceed federal regulations and guidance issued pursuant to 42 USC1758(f)(1), 1766(a), and 1779(a) and (b), as they apply to schools.
 
In order to maximize the district's ability to provide nutritious meals and snacks, all district schools shall participate in available federal school nutrition programs, including the National School Lunch Program to the extent possible.
 
Program Implementation and Evaluation
The Advisory Board may establish a plan for measuring implementation of the policy. The Superintendent may designate the principals as the ones charged with operational responsibility for ensuring that the school sites implement the district's wellness policy.
 
The Superintendent or designee may recommend for Board approval specific quality indicators that will be used to measure the implementation of the policy district wide and at each district school. These measures shall include, but not be limited to, an analysis of the nutritional content of meals served (in coordination with the meal contractor); student participation rates in school meal programs; any sales of non-nutritious foods and beverages in fundraisers held during school days, sales of non-nutritious foods at other venues outside the district's meal programs; and feedback from food service personnel, school administrators, parents/guardians, students/student environmental stewardship groups, and other appropriate persons.
 
The Superintendent shall report to the Board at least every two years on the implementation of this policy and any other Board policies related to nutrition and physical activity.
 
Posting Requirements
Each school shall post the district's policies and regulations on nutrition and physical activity in public view within all cafeterias or in other central eating areas. (Education Code 49432)
 
 
Board Adopted: March 2017