Wellness - Millcreek-West Unity Local School District

District Wellness Policy

NEOLA Policy 8510 - WELLNESS

As required by law, the Board of Education establishes the following wellness policy for the Millcreek-West Unity 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.

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:

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 included in the sequential, comprehensive Health curriculum in accordance with the curriculum standards and benchmarks established by the State.
3. Nutrition education shall include enjoyable, developmentally appropriate, and culturally relevant participatory activities, such as contests, promotions, taste testing, and others.
4. Nutrition education shall extend beyond the classroom by engaging and involving the school's food service staff.
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.
6. Nutrition education shall extend beyond the school by engaging and involving families and the community.
7. Nutrition education shall reinforce lifelong balance by emphasizing the link between caloric intake (eating) and exercise in ways that are age-appropriate
8. Instruction related to the standards and benchmarks for nutrition education shall be provided by highly qualified teachers.
9. With regard to physical activity, the District shall:
1. Physical Education
  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 physical education curriculum shall provide sequential instruction related to the knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary to participate in lifelong, health-enhancing physical activity.
  3. 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.
  4. The sequential, comprehensive physical education curriculum shall stress the importance of remaining physically active for life.
  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. All physical education classes shall have a student/teacher ratio comparable to the student/teacher ratio in other curricular areas.
  7. Planned instruction in physical education shall teach cooperation, fair play, and responsible participation.
  8. Planned instruction in physical education shall meet the needs of all students, including those who are not athletically gifted.
  9. Planned instruction in physical education shall be presented in an environment free of embarrassment, humiliation, shaming, taunting, bullying, or harassment of any kind.
  10. Planned instruction in physical education shall include cooperative as well as competitive game
  11. On an annual basis, physical education teachers shall review and affirm receipt of the Ohio Department of Health’s concussion information sheet.
  12. Physical Education teachers shall remove from class participation any student who exhibits signs, symptoms, or behaviors consistent with having sustained a concussion or head injury. The Principal and/or teacher shall notify parents or guardians about the possible concussion or head injury.
  13. Any student who has been removed from physical education class participation because s/he has exhibited signs, symptoms, or behaviors consistent with having sustained a concussion or head injury shall not be permitted to return to physical education class until the student’s condition is assessed by a physician, and the physician gives the student written clearance that it is safe to return to class.
2. Physical Activity
  1. Physical activity and movement shall be integrated, when possible, across the curricula and throughout the school day.
  2. 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.
  3. All students in grades K-12 shall have the opportunity to participate in extracurricular activities and intramural programs that emphasize physical activity.
  4. 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.
With regard to other school-based activities
1. Free drinking water shall be available to students during designated meal times and may be available throughout the school day.
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. Activities, such as tutoring or club meetings, shall not be scheduled during mealtimes, unless students may eat during those meetings.
5. 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.
6. An organized wellness program shall be available to all staff.
7. 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.
8. 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.
With regard to nutrition promotion, any foods and beverages marketed or promoted to students on the school campus during the school day will meet or exceed the USDA Smart Snacks in School nutrition standards.

Additionally, the District shall create an environment that reinforces the development of healthy eating habits, including offering healthy foods that comply with the USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the USDA Smart Snacks in School nutrition standards.

Furthermore, with the objectives of enhancing student health and well-being and reducing childhood obesity, the following guidelines are established:

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 including, but not limited to, the USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the USDA Smart Snacks in School nutrition standards, as well as to the fiscal management of the program.
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).

The sale of foods of minimal nutritional value in the food service area during the lunch period is prohibited.
The sale of foods and beverages to students that do not meet the USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the USDA Smart Snacks in School nutrition standards to be consumed on the school campus during the school day is prohibited.
All food items and beverages available for sale to students for consumption on the school campus (any area of property under the jurisdiction of the school that is accessible to students during the school day) between midnight and thirty (30) minutes after the close of the regular school day shall comply with the current USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the USDA Smart Snacks in School nutrition standards, including, but not limited to, competitive foods that are available to students a la carte or as entrees in the dining area (except entree items that were offered on the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) or School Breakfast Program (SBP) menu on the day of and the day after they are offered on the NSLP or SBP menu), as well as food items and beverages from vending machines, from school stores, or as fund-raisers, including those operated by student clubs and organizations, parent groups, or boosters clubs.
All foods offered on the school campus during the school day shall comply with the current USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans, including competitive foods that are available to students a la carte in the dining area, as classroom snacks, or from vending machines.
All food and beverages that are provided, other than through sale, on the school campus during the school day (which may include for classroom parties and at holiday celebrations) shall comply with the food and beverage standards approved by the Principal.
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 regardless of unpaid meal balances and without stigma.
Any food items sold on campus as a fundraiser shall meet the current USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans if being sold during the school day – midnight to thirty (30) minutes after the last bell.
The school food service program may involve students, parents, staff, and/or school officials in the selection of competitive food items to be sold in the schools.
The food service program shall be administered by a qualified nutrition professional.

The Board designates the Superintendent and/or the building principals as the individuals 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 health and physical education teachers), mental health and social services staff, ), 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. School-level health advisory teams may assist in the planning and implementation of these Wellness initiatives.

The Wellness Committee shall be responsible for:

assessment of the current school environment;
review of the District’s Wellness policy;
presentation of the Wellness policy to the Board for approval
measurement of the implementation of the policy; and
recommendation for the revision of the policy, as 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. In its review, the Wellness Committee shall consider evidence-based strategies in determining its recommendations.

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 the 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 and post the policy on the District’s website, including the Wellness Committee’s assessment of the policy’s implementation.

The District shall assess the Wellness Policy at least once every three (3) years on the extent to which schools in the District are in compliance with the District policy, the extent to which the District policy compares to model wellness policies, and the progress made in attaining the goals of the District Wellness Policy. The assessment shall be made available to the public on the School District's website.

Revised 11/21/11
Revised 8/18/14
Revised 1/12/15
Revised 4/17/17

Legal

7 C.F.R. Parts 210 and 220

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

42 U.S.C. 1771