Policies

School Wellness Policy

by Bancroft-Rosalie Schools

October 31, 2006

0580 School Wellness

Bancroft-Rosalie Community Schools adopts the following School Wellness Policy:

1. Goals to Promote Student Wellness

The following goals are established for nutrition education, physical activity, and other school-based activities that are designed to promote student wellness in a manner that the District determines to be appropriate:

A. Nutrition Education

Students in grades pre-K-12 receive nutrition education that is teaches the skills they need to adopt healthy eating behaviors and make healthy food choices.
Students receive consistent nutrition messages throughout the school, in classrooms and the cafeteria.
District health education curriculum standards and guidelines include both nutrition and physical education.
Nutrition is integrated into the health education or core curricula (e.g., math, science, language arts).
The school links nutrition education activities with the coordinated school health program.

B. Physical Activity

Students are given opportunities for physical activity during the school day through physical education (PE) classes, daily recess periods for elementary school students, and the integration of physical activity into the academic curriculum.
Students are given opportunities for physical activity through a range of before- and/or after-school programs including, but not limited to, intramurals and interscholastic athletics.
The school works with the community to create ways for students to walk, bike, rollerblade or skateboard safely to and from school.
The school encourages parents and guardians to support their children's participation in physical activity, to be physically active role models, and to include physical activity in family events.

C. Other School Activities

- Dining Environment

The school district provides a clean, safe, enjoyable meal environment for students.
The school district provides enough space and serving areas to ensure all students have access to school meals with minimum wait time.
The school district makes drinking fountains available so that students can get water at meals and throughout the day.
The school district encourages all students to participate in the school meals program and protects the identity of students who eat free and reduced price meals.
The school district will offer a variety of healthy foods that appeal to children.

- Time to Eat

The school district will ensure an adequate time for students to enjoy eating healthy foods with friends in schools.
The school district will schedule lunch time as near the middle of the school day as possible.

- Food or Physical Activity as a Reward or Punishment

The school district will discourage the use of food as a reward or punishment in schools.
The school district will not deny student participation in more than one recess per day as a form of discipline or for classroom make-up time.

- Consistent School Activities and Environment

The school district will ensure that all schools' fundraising efforts are supportive of healthy eating.
The school district will provide opportunities for on-going professional training and development for foodservice staff and teachers in the areas of nutrition and physical education.
The school district will make efforts to keep school or district-owned physical activity facilities open for use by students outside school hours.
The school district encourages parents, teachers, school administrators, students, foodservice professionals, and community members to serve as role models in practicing healthy eating and being physically active, both in school and at home.
The school district will offer whole fruits and vegetables, whole grain foods, 100% fruit juice, skim and low-fat white and flavored milk in preference over foods and drinks of minimal nutritional value in school vending machines.
The school district encourages and provides opportunities for students, teachers, and community volunteers to practice health eating and serve as role models in school dining areas.

2. Nutrition Guidelines

The following nutrition guidelines are selected by the District for all foods available in each school building during the school day with the objectives of promoting student health and reducing childhood obesity:

The school district sets guidelines for foods and beverages in a la carte sales in the food service program on school campuses.
The school district sets guidelines for foods and beverages sold in vending machines, snack bars, school stores, and concession stands on school campuses.
The school district sets guidelines for foods and beverages sold as part of school-sponsored fundraising activities.
The school district sets guidelines for refreshments served at parties, celebrations, and meetings during the school day.
The school district makes decisions on these guidelines based on nutrition goals, not on profit making.

3. Assurance for Reimbursable School Meals

The District gives the assurance that the District’s guidelines for reimbursable school meals shall not be less restrictive than regulations and guidance issued by the Secretary of Agriculture pursuant to subsections (a) and (b) of section 10 of the Child Nutrition Act (42 U.S.C. 1779) and sections 9(f)(1) and 17(a) of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1758(f)(1), 1766(a)), as those regulations and guidance apply to schools.

4. Plan for Measuring Implementation and Designation of Responsible Persons

The following plan is established for measuring implementation of the Wellness Policy:

• The school will periodically assess how well the policy is being managed and enforced and update or amend the policy as needed.

• The school will document any financial impact to the school foodservice program and vending machine revenues.

• The school will assess student, parent, teacher, and administration satisfaction with the Wellness policies.

The Superintendent of Schools is charged with operational responsibility for ensuring that the school meets the Wellness Policy.

5. Development of Policy

The District assures that development of the Wellness Policy involved parents, students, representatives of the District’s nutrition services department, the school board, school administrators, and the public.

First Approval March 13, 2006 Final Approval April 10, 2006

Legal Reference: The Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004; 42 USC 1751