School Wellness

458 WELLNESS

As required by law, the Board establishes the following wellness policy for the School District of Whitehall as a part of a comprehensive wellness initiative.

 

Policy Preamble

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 their 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:

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

  1. 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;
     

  2. 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;
     

  3. 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;
     

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

 

Policy Leadership

The District Administrator will oversee the 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.

 Required Public Involvement

 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.

Nutrition Standard for All Foods/School Meal Programs/Standards and Guidelines for School Meal Programs

  1. All meals meet or exceed current nutrition requirements established under the Healthy Hunger-free Kids Act of 2010. (https://www.fns.usda.gov/nslp/national-school-lunch-program-meal-pattern-chart)
     

  2. Drinking water is available for students during mealtimes.
     

  3. All meals are accessible to all students.
     

  4. Withholding food as a punishment shall be strictly prohibited.
     

  5. All school nutrition program directors, managers, and staff shall meet or exceed hiring and annual continuing education/training requirements in the USDA professional standards for child nutrition professionals.

School Meal Program Participation

The District:

Shall notify parents of the availability of the breakfast, lunch, and summer food programs and shall be encouraged to determine eligibility for reduced or free meals.

Foods and Beverages Sold Outside of School Meals

 

All food and beverages sold and served outside of the school meal programs (“competitive” foods and beverages) shall, at a minimum, meet the standards established in USDA’s Nutrition Standards for All Foods Sold in Schools (Smart Snacks) rule.

Fundraising

The District adheres to the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction fund-raiser exemption policy and allows two (2) exempt fund-raisers per student organization per school per year. All other fund-raisers sold during the school day will meet the Smart Snacks nutrition standards. No restrictions are placed on the sale of food/beverage items sold outside of the school day.

Marketing

Schools will restrict food and beverage marketing to only those foods and beverages that meet the nutrition standards set forth by USDA’s Nutrition Standards for All Foods Sold in Schools (Smart Snacks) rule. Marketing includes brand names, trademarks, logos, or tags except when placed on a food or beverage product/container; displays, such as vending machine exteriors; corporate/brand names, logos, trademarks on cups, posters, school supplies, education materials, food service equipment, and school equipment (e.g. message boards, scoreboards, uniforms); advertisements in school publications/mailings; sponsorship of school activities, fundraisers, or sports teams; educational incentive programs such as contests or programs; and free samples or coupons displaying advertising of a product.

Nutrition Education

  1. The primary goal of nutrition education is to influence students’ lifelong eating behaviors. Nutrition education, a component of comprehensive health education, shall be offered every year to all students of the District. The District aims to teach, model, encourage, and support healthy eating by providing nutrition education.
     

  2. 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.
     

  3. 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.
     

  4. Nutrition education shall extend beyond the school by engaging and involving families and the community.
     

  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 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.
     

  7. Staff responsible for providing instruction in nutrition education shall regularly participate in professional development activities designed to better enable them to teach the benchmarks and standards.

Nutrition Promotion

The District is committed to providing a school environment that promotes students to practice healthy eating and physical activity. Students shall receive consistent nutrition messages that promote health throughout schools, classrooms, cafeterias, and school media.

Physical Activity

  1. The District shall provide students with age and grade-appropriate opportunities to engage in physical activity.
     

  2. In addition to planned physical education, the school shall provide age-appropriate physical activities (e.g., recess during the school day, intramurals and clubs before and after school, and interscholastic sports) that meet the needs of all students, including males, females, students with disabilities, and students with special health care needs.

Other School-Based Strategies for Wellness:

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.

Staff Wellness

The District will implement the following activities below to promote healthy eating and physical activity among school staff.

Administration of flu shots at school.

Community Engagement

The District shall inform and invite parents to participate in school-sponsored activities throughout the year.

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 760, entitled Food Service Management, 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 761, 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).​
     

  3. 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 without stigma.

Monitoring and Evaluation

A review of this policy shall occur no less than once every three (3) years using a procedure developed and implemented by the District Administrator. The District shall notify school staff, students, and households/families of the availability of the wellness report via newsletters and website postings.

Public Notice

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.

Record Retention

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


Approved 07/2/23