WELLNESS | Policy Manual | Greensburg Comm. Schools

8510 - WELLNESS

As required by law, the School Board establishes the following wellness policy for the School Corporation 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 Corporation'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 with respect to eating and exercise.

The Board sets the following goals in an effort to enable students to establish good health, healthy nutrition, and physical activity habits:

With regard to nutrition education:
1. Nutrition education shall be included in the health curriculum at all grade levels 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 posters, such as the Food Pyramid Guide and USDA's MyPlate will be displayed in the cafeteria and other appropriate areas visable to students and others in the school community.
4. Nutrition education shall extend beyond the classroom and school by engaging the school's foodservice staff, 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, lean meats, fish, poultry, and plant-based proteins, and low-fat and fat-free milk dairy products.
7. Instruction related to the standards and benchmarks for nutrition education shall be provided by highly qualified teachers.
With regard to physical activity:
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 sequential, comprehensive physical education curriculum 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.
  3. Planned instruction in physical education shall promote participation in physical activity outside the regular school day.
  4. The physical education curriculum shall provide sequential instruction related to the knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary to participate in lifelong, health-enhancing physical activity.
  5. The sequential, comprehensive physical education curriculum shall stress the importance of remaining physically active for life.
  6. 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.
  7. Teachers properly certificated/licensed in the subject area of physical education shall provide all instruction in physical education.
  8. Planned instruction in physical education shall teach cooperation, fair play, and responsible participation.
  9. Planned instruction in physical education shall meet the needs of all students, including those who are not athletically gifted.
  10. Planned instruction in physical education shall be presented in an environment free of embarrassment, humiliation, shaming, taunting, bullying, or harassment of any kind.
  11. Planned instruction in physical education shall include cooperative as well as competitive games.
2. Physical Activity
  1. Physical activity shall not be employed as a form of discipline or punishment.
  2. Schools shall encourage families to provide physical activity outside the regular school day, such as outdoor play at home, participation in sports sponsored by community agencies or organizations, and in lifelong physical activities like bowling, swimming, or tennis.
  3. All students in grades K- 5/6 shall be provided with a daily recess period at least twenty (20) minutes in duration. Recess shall not be used as a reward or punishment.
  4. Recess, physical education, and any other form of physical activity shall not be revoked from students as a form of punishment or to complete unfinished class work.
  5. The school shall encourage families and community organizations to help develop and institute programs that support physical
  6. 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.
  7. All students in grades 6-12 shall have the opportunity to participate in extracurricular activities and intramural programs that emphasize physical activity.
  8. All students in grades 7-12 shall have the opportunity to participate in interscholastic sports programs.
  9. 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. Students are allowed to carry water bottles into their classrooms.
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. Schools may limit the number of celebrations involving serving food during the school day.
7. An organized wellness program shall be available to all staff.
8. The schools may demonstrate support for the health of all students by hosting health clinics and screenings and encouraging parents to enroll their eligible children in Medicaid or in other children's health insurance programs for which they may qualify.
9. 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.
10. Schools provide students affordable access to the varied and nutritious foods they need to be healthy and to learn well regardless of unpaid meal balances.
11. 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, and Food Services
1. Any foods and beverages sold or promoted to students on the school campus, during the school day, will meet or exceed the USDA Smart Snacks in School nutrition standards. This includes marketing on school property, on educational materials, where food is purchased, in school publications, and school media.
2. Additionally, the Corporation shall:
  1. encourages students to increase their consumption of healthful foods during the school day.
  2. create an environment that reinforces the development of healthy eating habits, including offering the following healthy foods:
    1. a variety of fresh produce to include those prepared without added fats, sugars, refined sugars, and sodium
    2. whole grain, including whole and whole grain-rich products that meet school lunch and breakfast program requirements and, if offered, Smart Snack in School standards
    3. promote and encourage a variety of choices from the fruit component and vegetable component daily within the school lunch program;
    4. require that all foods and beverages sold as fundraisers on the school campus during the school day shall meet the USDA Competitive Food regulations;
    5. discourage rewarding children in the classroom with candy and other foods that can undermine children’s diets and health and reinforce unhealthy eating habits. A wide variety of alternative rewards can be used to provide positive reinforcement for children’s behavior and academic performance;

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 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 food service program will strive to be financially self-supporting; however, if it is necessary to subsidize the operation, any food sold to help this will meet Smart Snack Guidelines.
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.
The food service program will provide information to families about free/reduced meal eligibility (e.g. sending applications home with all students once a year, posting the application on the school website, etc.).
All food items and beverages available for sale to students for consumption on campus 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/or Smart Snack Guidelines, including, but not limited to, competitive foods that are available to students à la carte in the dining area, as well as food items and beverages from vending machines, school stores, or fund-raisers by student clubs and organizations, parent groups, or boosters clubs.
All foods available to students in Corporation programs, other than the food service program, shall be served with consideration for promoting student health and well-being.
Any food items sold for consumption on campus from thirty (30) minutes after the end of the last lunch period until thirty (30) minutes after the school day ends in a fundraiser by approved student clubs and organizations and Corporation support organizations shall meet the current USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
The food service program shall be administered by a director who is properly qualified, certificated, licensed, or credentialed, according to current professional standards.
All food service personnel shall receive pre-service training in food service operations.
Continuing professional development shall be provided for all staff of the food service program in accordance with USDA professional standards.

The Board designates the Superintendent as the individual(s) charged with operational responsibility for measuring and evaluating the Corporation's implementation and progress under this policy.

The Superintendent shall appoint a Corporation wellness committee that includes parents, students, representatives of the school food authority, nutritionists or certified dieticians, educational staff (including health and physical education teachers), mental health and social services staff, school health professionals, the School Board, school administrators, and members of the public to oversee the development, implementation, evaluation, and periodic update, if necessary, of the wellness policy. School-level health advisory teams may assist in the planning and implementation of these Wellness initiatives.

The Superintendent shall be an ex officio member of the committee.

The wellness committee shall be an ad hoc committee of the Board with members recruited and appointed annually.

The wellness committee shall:

assess the current environment in each of the Corporation’s schools;
measure the implementation of the Corporation’s wellness policy in each of the Corporation’s schools;
review the Corporation’s current wellness policy;
recommend revision of the policy, as appropriate; and
present the wellness policy, with any recommended revisions, to the Board for approval or re-adoption if revisions are recommended.

Before the end of each school year the wellness committee shall submit to the Superintendent and Board their report in which they describe the environment in each of the Corporation’s schools and the implementation of the wellness policy in each school, and identify any revisions to the policy the committee deems necessary. 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 work of the wellness committee, including their assessment of the environment in the Corporation, their evaluation of wellness policy implementation Corporation-wide, and the areas for improvement, if any, that the committee identified. The committee also shall report on the status of compliance by individual schools and progress made in attaining goals established in the policy.

The Superintendent also 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 Superintendent shall post the wellness policy on the Corporation’s website, including the assessment of the implementation of the policy prepared by the Corporation.

The Corporation shall assess the Wellness Policy at least once every three (3) years on the extent to which schools in the Corporation are in compliance with the Corporation policy, the extent to which the Corporation policy compares to model wellness policies, and the progress made in attaining the goals of the Corporation Wellness Policy. To ensure continuing progress, the Corporation will evaluate implementation efforts and their impact on students and staff using the following tool http://www.doe.in.gov/sites/default/files/nutrition/evaluation-checklist_0.pdf

The assessment shall be made available to the public in the Policy Manual.

Nondiscrimination Statement

In accordance with Federal civil rights law and USDA civil rights regulations and policies, the USDA, its agencies, offices, and employees, and institutions participating in or administering USDA programs are prohibited from discriminating based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, disability, age, marital status, family/parental status, income derived from a public assistance program, political beliefs, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity in any program or activity conducted or funded by USDA (not all bases apply to all programs). Remedies and complaint filing deadlines vary by program or incident.

Program information may be made available in languages other than English. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication to obtain program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language), should contact the responsible State or local agency that administers the program or USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339.

To file a program discrimination complaint, a Complainant should complete a Form AD-3027, USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form which can be obtained online at: https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/ad-3027.pdf, from any USDA office by calling (866) 632-9992, or by writing a letter addressed to USDA. The letter must contain the complainant’s name, address, telephone number, and a written description of the alleged discriminatory action in sufficient detail to inform the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights (ASCR) about the nature and date of an alleged civil rights violation. The completed AD-3027 form or letter must be submitted to USDA by:

Mail:
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights
1400 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; or
Fax:
(833) 256-1665 or (202) 690-7442; or
E-mail:
program.intake@usda.gov

This institution is an equal opportunity provider.

The above nondiscrimination statement complements the Corporation's nondiscrimination policies, including Policy 2260 - Nondiscrimination and Access to Equal Educational Opportunity and Policy 1422/Policy 3122/Policy 4122 - Nondiscrimination and Equal Employment Opportunity.

Revised 3/19/13
Revised 2/11/14
Revised 8/2/14
Revised 8/9/16
Revised 8/8/17
Revised 7/10/18
Revised 5/11/21
Revised 10/12/21
Revised 12/13/22
Revised 6/11/24