Cedar Grove-Belgium School District

As required by law, the Board of Education establishes the following wellness policy for the Cedar Grove-Belgium 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 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 choices to: 

1. promote nutrition education with the objective of improving students’ health and reducing childhood obesity;

    

2. improve the health and well-being of our children, increase consumption of healthful foods during the school day, and create an environment that reinforces the development of healthy eating habits;

    

3. promote nutrition guidelines, a healthy eating environment, child nutrition programs, and food safety and security on each school campus with the objective of promoting student health and reducing childhood obesity;

    

4. provide opportunities for every student to develop the knowledge and skills for specific physical activities, maintain physical fitness, regularly participate in physical activity, and understand the short and long-term benefits of a physically active lifestyle;

    

5. promote the health and wellness of students and staff through other school based activities.

The District Administrator shall obtain the input of District stakeholders, to include parents, students, representatives of the school food authority, educational staff (including physical education teachers), school health professionals, School Board members, members of the public, and other school administrators in the development, implementation, evaluation, and periodic review and update, if necessary, of the wellness policy.

 The wellness committee shall be an administrative committee with members recruited and appointed by the District Administrator.

The District Administrator will oversee development, implementation, and evaluation of the wellness procedures and is authorized to designate a staff member or members with responsibility to assure that wellness initiatives are followed in the District's schools. 

The District Administrator shall conduct reviews of the progress toward school wellness procedures, identify areas for improvement, and recommend revision of procedures as necessary. 

Before the end of each school year the wellness committee shall submit to the District Administrator and Board their report in which they describe the environment in each of the District’s schools and the implementation of the wellness policy in each school, and identify any revisions to the policy the committee deems necessary. 

The District Administrator or a designee of the wellness committee shall report annually to the Board on the District’s wellness programs, including the assessment of the environment in the District, evaluation of wellness policy implementation District-wide, and the areas for improvement, if any, identified. The District Administrator or a designee of the wellness committee shall also report on the status of compliance by individual schools and progress made in attaining goals established in the policy. 

The program developed shall include the following items, along with any additional measures deemed appropriate: 

1. identify specific goals for nutrition promotion and education, physical activity, and other school-based activities that promote student wellness, with consideration for evidence-based strategies;

    

2. develop nutrition guidelines for all foods and beverages sold during the school day, that are consistent with Federal requirements for meal nutrition standards and smart snacks, and restricting marketing efforts to only those items that meet established guidelines;

    

3. develop policies pertaining to other food items in the schools, including for classroom parties, birthday snacks, or other food items not for sale, but distributed in the schools;

    

4. describes the process and public involvement in the development of the wellness program and initiatives.

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

    

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

    

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

    

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

    

6. Nutrition education benchmarks and standards include a focus on media literacy as it relates to food marketing strategies.

    

7. 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.

    

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

All foods available to students in District programs, other than the food service program, shall be served with consideration for promoting student health and well-being.

1. 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.

    

2. 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.

    

3. 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.

    

4. Planned instruction in physical education shall promote participation in physical activity outside the regular school day.

    

5. 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.

    

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

    

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

    

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

    

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

    

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

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

    

2. 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.

    

3. The school shall provide information to families to encourage and assist them in their efforts to incorporate physical activity into their children's daily lives.

    

4. The school shall encourage families and community organizations to help develop and institute programs that support physical activity of all sorts.

    

5. All students in grades 5-12 shall have the opportunity to participate in extracurricular activities and intramural programs that emphasize physical activity.

    

6. All students in grades 5-12 shall have the opportunity to participate in interscholastic sports programs.

    

7. 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.

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Other School-Based Strategies for Wellness: 

1. 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.

    

2. The school may provide opportunities for staff, parents, and other community members to model healthy eating habits by dining with students in the school dining areas.

 Additional Strategies for Consideration: 

1. The school shall provide attractive, clean environments in which the students eat.

    

2. Students at are permitted to have bottled water in the classroom.

    

3. Activities, such as tutoring or club meetings, shall not be scheduled during mealtimes, unless students may eat during those meetings.

    

4. The schools may use environmentally friendly practices, such as the use of locally grown foods and non- disposable tableware and dishes.

    

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: 

1. 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.

    

2. 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).

    

   All foods available on campus during the school day shall comply with the current USDA nutrition guidelines, including competitive foods that are available to students a la carte in the dining area, as classroom snacks, from vending machines, for classroom parties, or at holiday celebrations.

    

3. 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.

    

4. 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.

    

5. 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.

    

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

    

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

    

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

    

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

The District Administrator shall be 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 District Administrator shall distribute information at the beginning of the school year to families of school children and post the wellness policy on the District’s website, including the assessment of the implementation of the policy prepared by the District.

The District Administrator shall require that the District retains documentation pertaining to the development, review, evaluation, and update of the policy, including: 

1. copy of the current policy;

    

2. documentation pertaining to the most recent assessment of implementation of wellness initiatives identified in the policy;

    

3. documentation of efforts to publicize the policy;

    

4. documentation of efforts to review and update the policy, including identification of the participating and invited stakeholders.

    

Review of this policy shall occur every three (3)years, by a committee appointed by the Board, consisting of a representative(s) of the Board, the administration, the food service provider, the parents, the students, and the public. The committee shall provide the Board with review of the performance of the programs and any recommended changes to this policy.

 © Neola 2017