Wellness Plan for Maize Schools

USD #266 will create, strengthen, or work within the existing health council to develop, implement, monitor, review, and, as necessary, revise school nutrition and physical education activities. The council will also serve as a resource to school sites for implementing those policies.

In USD #266, the wellness committee will be broadened to include food service representatives, physical education instructors, Board of Education members, teachers, school nurses, and community representatives. The wellness committee will meet at minimum, two times per school year for the specific purpose of reviewing the Local Wellness Policy and Implementation of guidelines and recommendations.

Meals served through the National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs will:

• Be appealing and attractive to children;
• Be served in clean and pleasant settings;
• Meet, at a minimum, nutrition requirements established by local, state, and federal statutes and regulations;
• Offer a variety of fruits and vegetables(2)
• Serve only low-fat 1% fat-free milk(3) and nutritionally-equivalent non-dairy alternatives (to be defined by USDA); and

The implementation of these guidelines shall be the sole responsibility of the food services director. From time to time, the food service director will offer opportunities for students, parents and staff, a taste-test of new entrees and surveys, in selecting foods offered through the school hot lunch and breakfast programs in order to identify new, healthful, and appealing food choices. The nutritional value of the meals served shall be made available upon request from the food service director who shall keep a written record of the nutritional value of all food served.

Breakfast. To ensure that all children have breakfast, either at home or at school, in order to meet their nutritional needs and enhance their ability to learn:

• USD #266 will operate the School Breakfast program.
• USD #266 will operate the School Breakfast program in conjunction with the bus schedules in order to give every student the opportunity to take part in the program.

Free and Reduced-priced Meals. USD #266 will encourage families to take part in the free and reduced-priced meal program. Every effort will be made by the district to maintain the confidentiality of those who are eligible for free and reduced-price school meals(5).

Meal Times and Scheduling. USD #266:

• will provide students with a minimum of 20 minutes for no more than 25 minutes to eat after sitting down for lunch. Breakfast shall be scheduled in such a manner that students may eat without being late to any class;
• will schedule meal periods at appropriate times;
• will not schedule activities, organizational/class meetings during mealtimes, unless students may eat during such activities;
• will provide access to and encourage students to wash or sanitize hands before they eat meals or snacks;
• will take reasonable steps to accommodate students who have special food needs (due to food allergies or special diet) and other special needs.

Qualification of School Food Service Staff.  A qualified nutrition professional will administer the school meal programs. As part of USD #266’s responsibility to operate a food service program, continuing education opportunities shall be provided for all kitchen managers in the school. The staff shall take part in the programs sponsored by the State of Kansas as part of their continuing education program (6).

Sharing of Food and Beverages. USD #266 shall discourage students from sharing their food and/or beverages with one another during meal or snack times, given concerns about allergies, disease transmission and other restrictions on a child’s diet.

FOODS AND BEVERAGES SOLD INDIVIDUALLY OUTSIDE THE REIMBURSABLE SCHOOL MEALS

Maize Schools. The foods and beverages sold individually outside the reimbursable school meals program through vending machines or direct sales shall use the following as guidelines established and supervised by the building principals.

USD 266 will adhere to Smart Snacks guidelines for the nutritional quality of foods sold to students.

Snacks. Snacks served during the school day, used as reward/reinforcement incentives or served during the after school program or other school enrichment programs (including summer school) shall make a positive contribution to the child’s diets and health. Emphasis will be on healthy snack and drinks and must be considered in relationship to the time of breakfast and lunch for the student. Each school will provide a list of healthy snacks.

Nutrition Education and Promotion. Unified School District No. 266 aims to teach, encourage, and support healthy eating by students. USD #266 will provide nutrition education and engage in nutrition promotion that:

• is offered at each grade level as part of a sequential, comprehensive, standards-based program designed to provide students with the knowledge and skills necessary to promote and protect their health;
• is part of not only health education classes, but also classroom instruction in subject such as math, science, language arts, social sciences, and elective subjects;
• includes enjoyable, developmentally-appropriate, culturally-relevant, participatory activities, such as contests, promotions, taste-testing, farm visits, and other activities promoting a healthy lifestyle;
• promotes fruits, vegetables, whole grain products, low-fat (2%) and 1% fat-free dairy products, healthy food preparation methods, and health-enhancing nutrition practices;
• emphasizes caloric balance between food intake and energy expenditure (physical activity/exercise);
• links with school meal programs, other school foods, and nutrition-related community services;
• teaches media literacy with an emphasis on food marketing (public relations for what we are doing); and
• includes training for teachers and other staff.

Integrating Physical Activity in the Classroom Setting. For students to receive the nationally-recommended amount of daily physical activity (i.e. at least 60 minutes per day) and for students to fully embrace regular physical activity as a personal behavior, students need opportunities for physical activity beyond physical education class. Toward that end USD #266:

• will complement physical education through the classroom health education program by reinforcing the knowledge and self-management skills needed to maintain a physically-active lifestyle and to reduce time spent on sedentary activities, such as watching television and playing video-games;
• will provide short physical activity breaks between lessons or classes, as appropriate.

Communication with Parents. USD #266 will support parent’s effort to provide a healthy lifestyle for their children. Through a variety of means, the USD #266 will provide information to help parents understand the role the schools are playing in the health of their child and to provide information to help parents to better understand what a healthy lifestyle is in regard to diet and daily physical activity. A copy of the district’s policy is published on the district’s website.

Staff Wellness. Unified School District No. 266 highly values the health and well-being of every staff member and will plan and implement activities and policies that support personal efforts by staff to maintain a healthy lifestyle. The district will establish and maintain a wellness committee that develops, promotes, and oversees a plan to promote health and wellness for the staff.

Physical Education (P.E.) K-12. Unified School District No. 266 will implement physical activity (recess included) for ALL students (K-9), including students with disabilities, special health-care needs, and in alternative educational settings, allowing students the opportunity to have physical education (or its equivalent of 150 minutes/week for elementary school students. Physical education is available as an elective for grades 9-12.

Students will spend at least 50% of the time in physical education class participating in moderate to vigorous physical
activity.

Daily Recess. All Elementary School students will have at least a minimum of 20 minutes a day of supervised recess, preferably outdoors, during which the supervising staff will encourage moderate to vigorous physical activity for the students.

Physical Activity Opportunities Before and After School. All junior and senior high schools will offer extracurricular physical activity programs as appropriate before and after school. In USD #266, an interscholastic sports program shall be offered to meet a range of student needs.

Physical Activity and Punishment. In USD #266, physical activity (e.g. laps, pushups) will not be used as punishment. Withholding of physical activity opportunities shall not be used as punishment.

Use of School Facilities Outside of School Hours. USD #266 will work closely with the Maize Recreation Commission to determine the best use of the school facilities outside regular school hours to promote a healthy and physically fit lifestyle. All use of the facilities must be approved by the building administrator and must follow the local Board of Education guidelines. Special care must be given to insure that no activities are unsupervised at anytime.

Monitoring. The superintendent of USD #266 or designee will ensure compliance with established district-wide nutrition and physical activity wellness policies. In each school, the building principal or designee will ensure compliance with those policies in their school and will report on the school’s compliance to the superintendent of schools or designee.

School food service staff, at the school level, will ensure compliance with nutrition policies and will report on this matter to the superintendent or designee. This includes reporting on all inspections, changes in guidelines from the Federal Food Program, or other pertinent information regarding the nutrition program. The food service director shall have a list of all nutritional values of the food that is prepared and served upon request.

This policy will be reviewed every three years with the superintendent or designee filing a written report with the USD #266 Board of Education.

Policy Review. In reviewing the district’s current practices, enough data is available, especially in the food service area that very little needs to be changes at this time. The food service director is responsible for the daily menu work and food preparation of determining the nutritional value of the food served. Changes are being made in the area of healthy snacks and beverages.

Once the plan is fully in place and operational, an assessment will be repeated every three years to ensure compliance, assess progress and determine areas in need of improvement. Policies will be revised as necessary with plans set forth to facilitate implementation of any new policies or activities.

Goals Identified by the Coordinated School Health Committee

1. Review vending machine selections and times the machines are open.
2. Develop avenues to communicate wellness policies and information to parents.
3. Review physical activities.
4. Organize a district health fair.
5. Create a staff wellness policy.
6. Review the a la carte menu.

Footnotes:
2 – To the extent possible, schools will offer at least two non-fried vegetables and two fruit options each day and will offer five different fruits and five different vegetables over the course of a week. Schools are encouraged to source fresh fruits and vegetables from local vendors when possible.
5 – It is against the law to make others in the cafeteria aware of the eligibility status of children for free, reduced-price, or “paid” meals.
6 – School nutrition staff development programs are available through the USDA, School Nutrition Association, and National Food Service Management Institute.
9 – School s that has vending machines are encouraged to include refrigerated snack vending machines, which can accommodate fruits, vegetables, yogurts, and other perishable items.
10 – Unless this practice is allowed by a student’s individual education plan (IEP).

NOTE: This model policy was developed by the NATIONAL ALLIANCE FOR NUTRITION AND ACTIVITY. It has been reviewed and adapted for use by Unified School District No. 266, Maize, Kansas.