Wellness Policy

1. Wellness Policy A guide to understanding and developing a Wellness Policy in your school district.

2. Section 204 of Public Law 108-265 • Became Law – June 30, 2004 • Section 204 of the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004 • Components of a Wellness Policy • Goals for nutrition education, physical activity, and other school-based activities. • Nutrition guidelines for all foods sold on campus • Assurance that school meals meet USDA regulations • Establish plan for measuring implementation of wellness policy • Involve parents, students, and representatives of school food authority and others.

5. Steps to Creating Policy • Create the guest list – who will you invite to create policy writing team? • Plan the menu – how far reaching do you want your policy to be?

6. Plan The Menu • Policy must include the following: 1a. Nutrition education goals 1b. Physical activity goals 1c. Other school-based activities 2. Nutrition guidelines/standards 3. Assurances that USDA school meals guidelines are being met 4. Plan for measuring implementation • Designation of 1 or more people to ensure wellness policy is being met at all school buildings • We recommend having a specific workgroup designated to work on each of the above sections.

7. 1a. Nutrition Education Goals • The primary goal of nutrition education is to influence students' eating behaviors. The following should be considered when establishing nutrition education policy language: • Students in grades pre-K -12 receive nutrition education that is interactive and teaches the skills they need to adopt healthy eating behaviors. • Nutrition education is offered in the school dining room as well as in the classroom, with coordination between the foodservice staff and teachers. • Students receive consistent nutrition messages throughout the school, classroom, cafeteria, home, community and media. http://www.fns.usda.gov/tn/Healthy/policy_component1.html

8. 1a. Nutrition Education Goals • State and district health education curriculum standards and guidelines include both nutrition and physical education. • Nutrition is integrated into the health education curricula or core curriculum (e.g., math, science, language arts). • Schools link nutrition education activities with the coordinated school health program. • Staff who provide nutrition education have appropriate training. • Schools are Team Nutrition Schools and they conduct nutrition education activities and promotions that involve parents, students, and the community.

9. 1b. Physical Activity Goals • The primary goal for a school's physical activity component is to 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 and healthful lifestyle. • The following examples of policy language should be considered when setting goals for physical activity. • At a minimum, students should have 60 minutes of physical activity on most, preferably all, days of the week.

10. 1b. Physical Activity Goals • Students should be given opportunities for physical activity during the school day through daily recess periods, elective physical education (PE) classes, walking programs, and the integration of physical activity into the academic curriculum. • Students should be given opportunities for physical activity through a range of after-school programs including intramurals, interscholastic athletics, and physical activity clubs. • Schools should work with the community to create an environment that is safe and supportive of students' physically active commute to and from school.

11. 1c. Other School Based Activities • Policies established under this category create a school environment that provides consistent wellness messages and is conducive to healthy eating and being physically active. Examples of policy language include: • Provide a clean, safe, enjoyable meal environment for students. • Provide adequate time for students to enjoy eating healthy foods with friends, scheduled as near the middle of the school day as possible. • Prohibit use of food as a reward or punishment. • Provide enough space and serving areas to ensure student access to school meals with a minimum of wait time. • Prohibit denial of student participation in recess or other physical activity as a form of discipline, or cancellation of recess or other physical activity time for instructional make-up time.

12. 1c. Other School Based Activities • Ensure fundraising efforts are supportive of healthy eating. • Provide on-going professional training and development for foodservice staff and teachers in the areas of nutrition and physical education. • Provide student access to physical activity facilities outside school hours. • Schedule recess for elementary grades before lunch so that children will come to lunch less distracted and ready to eat. • Develop strategies for 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.

13. 2. Nutrition Guidelines/Standards • Students' lifelong eating habits are greatly influenced by the types of foods and beverages available to them. • Standards must be established to address all foods and beverages sold or served to students, including those available outside of the school meal programs. • The following items should be considered when setting nutrition standards for all available foods during the school day. These standards should focus on increasing nutrient density, decreasing fat and added sugars, and moderating portion size. • Set guidelines for foods and beverages in a la carte sales in the food service program on school campuses. • Set guidelines for foods and beverages sold in vending machines, snack bars, school stores, and concession stands on school campuses. • Set guidelines for foods and beverages sold as part of school-sponsored fundraising activities. • Set guidelines for refreshments served at parties, celebrations, and meetings during the school day.

14. 3. Assurance that School Meals Meet USDA Standards • Schools must ensure that reimbursable school meals meet the program requirements and nutrition standards set forth under the 7 CFR Part 210 and Part 220.

15. 4. Plan for Measuring Implementation • Establish a plan for measuring implementation of the local wellness policy • Including designation of 1 or more persons within the local educational agency or at each school, as appropriate, charged with operational responsibility for ensuring that the school meets the local wellness policy. • Recommendation - periodically assess how well the policy is being managed and enforced, and evaluate any financial impact to vending policies. Evaluation and feedback are very important in maintaining a sound, school wellness policy.

16. Sample Local School Wellness Policies • http://www.asfsa.org/childnutrition/wellnesspolicies/districtsamples.asp • California • Hemet Unified School District • Los Angeles USD (in Adobe Acrobat format) • Oakland USD (in Adobe Acrobat format) • San Francisco USD (in Adobe Acrobat format) • Georgia • DeKalb County Schools • Maine • Maine School Administrative District 22 • Minnesota • Wilmar Public Schools • New York • New York Public Schools (in Adobe Acrobat format) • Pennsylvania • School District of Philadelphia • Texas • Austin ISD • Eanes ISD (in Adobe Acrobat format) • South Carolina • Richland One SD • Wisconsin • Appleton Area School District

17. Example Wellness Policy

23. Example Policy #2

24. Nutrition Resources • Team NutritionChanging the Scene: Improving the School Nutrition Environment. Developed by U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Team Nutrition, this guide is designed to assist parents, school administrators, teachers, school foodservice employees, and other concerned members of the community to examine their school's nutrition environment, develop a plan for improvement, and put the plan into action. • Michigan’s State Board of Education Nutrition Policy and toolkit • A Call to Action • Team Nutrition: Getting it Started and Keeping it Going • HealthierUS Schools Challenge

25. Nutrition Resources • Other Federal Agencies • Guidelines for School Health Programs to Promote Lifelong Healthy Eating [PDF 490K]. These guidelines identify school-based strategies most likely to be effective in promoting lifelong healthy eating among young people. • Resource Guide for Nutrition and Physical Activity Interventions to Prevent Obesity and Other Chronic Diseases. This document provides selected references and resources for developing or updating community nutrition and physical activity programs. Topics include obesity prevention and control, increased physical activity, improved nutrition, and reduced television time. • Healthy School Action Tool at www.mihealthtools.org/schools This tool enables schools to identify the strengths and weaknesses of nutrition and physical activity environments and develop an action plan for improvement. • Ten Strategies for Promoting Physical Activity, Healthy Eating, and a Tobacco-Free Lifestyle Through School Health Programs [PDF 60K]. This publication identifies actions that schools can take to implement CDC's school health guidelines in these content areas.

26. Nutrition Resources • Non-Governmental Organizations • Fit, Healthy, and Ready to Learn: A School Health Policy Guide Produced by the National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE), this document provides direction to states, school districts, and individual schools on establishing an overall policy framework for school health programs and specific policies on promoting healthy eating among young people. • Healthy School Food Policies Checklist Distributed by the Center for Food and Justice's Urban and Environmental Policy Institute, this document contains many of the innovative policies that have been adopted or proposed to improve school food. • How You Can Take Action Developed by Action for Healthy Kids, these recommendations offer ways parents, school personnel, and others can take action to improve children's nutrition and physical activity in the education environment. • Keys to Excellence: Standard of Practice for Nutrition Integrity Published by the American Food Services Association (AFSA), this tool identifies the elements of a quality school nutrition program. It provides an easy-to-use evaluation form for assessing program quality and tracking progress in developing and implementing plans to achieve goals. • National Food Service Management Institute Resource Guide [PDF 1.8 Mb]. This resource guide includes information on educational materials, videotapes, reports applied research, and other resources for professional development that promote the improvement of child nutrition programs. • Preventing Obesity in Youth through School-Based Efforts [PDF 290K]. Developed by the National Governor's Association (NGA), this Issue Brief addresses childhood obesity and the role of schools in promoting healthy living and includes recommendations, examples, and resources for state leaders.

27. Physical Activity Resources • CDCBrochures for Parents, Teachers, and Principals to Increase Physical Activity Among Youth. These colorful brochures are designed to help parents, teachers, and principals increase physical activity among elementary and middle school-aged youth. • Guidelines for School and Community Programs to Promote Lifelong Physical Activity Among Young People. This document identifies strategies most likely to be effective in helping young people adopt and maintain a physically active lifestyle. • KidsWalk-to-SchoolThis community-based program aims to increase opportunities for daily physical activity by encouraging children to walk to and from school in groups accompanied by adults. It also encourages collaboration among partners to create an environment that is supportive of walking and bicycling to school safely. • Physical Activity Evaluation Handbook [PDF 590K]. This handbook outlines the six basic steps of program evaluation and illustrates each step with physical activity program examples. • Projects to Increase Physical Activity Among Youth This report provides descriptions of projects implemented by state and local education agencies and national organizations to increase physical activity among youth. • Promoting Better Health for Young People Through Physical Activity and Sports This 2000 report, written by the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Secretary of Education and released by the White House, outlines 10 strategies to promote health through lifelong participation in enjoyable and safe physical activity and sports.

28. Physical Activity Resources • Promoting Physical Activity: A Guide for Community Action This guide uses a social marketing and behavioral science approach to intervention planning, guiding users through a step-by-step process to address the target population's understanding and skills, the social networks, the physical environments in which they live and work, and the policies that most influence their actions. • Resource Guide for Nutrition and Physical Activity Interventions to Prevent Obesity and Other Chronic Diseases [PDF 550K]. This document provides selected references and resources for developing or updating community nutrition and physical activity programs. Topics include obesity prevention and control, increased physical activity, improved nutrition, and reduced television time. • Ten Strategies for Promoting Physical Activity, Healthy Eating, and a Tobacco-Free Lifestyle Through School Health Programs[PDF 60K]. This publication identifies actions that schools can take to implement CDC's school health guidelines Modified Version of the Michigan Dept. of Education Wellness Policy Packet