Anderson County Schools Wellness Policy

As part of our mission to help all students be “safe, prepared, and responsible,” we annually will evaluate our district Wellness Policy and seek student, parent, and staff input through surveys that will be conducted in January, 2015. The objective of these surveys will be to collect data to create at least one district goal to improve. This goal will be created at the monthly District Health and Safety Committee Meeting scheduled for Tuesday, May 5 at 3:30pm at the Board of Education Building. Students, parents, physical and/or health education teachers, school food service professionals, school health professionals, school board members, school administrators, and other interested community members interested in attending, please email Ronnie Fields at [email protected]

Each school’s SBDM council also has a Wellness Policy; please contact your school or the school’s website for more information.

Below is the current district board policy:

STUDENTS 09.2

Student Welfare and Wellness

The health and safety of pupils shall be a priority consideration in all Board decisions.

The Board is committed to providing school environments that promote and protect student health, well-being, and ability to learn by supporting healthy eating and physical activity. To this end, the Board supports school efforts to implement the following:

· All students will have opportunities, support, and encouragement to be physically active on a regular basis as provided by school/council policy.

· Foods and beverages sold or served at school will meet the nutrition recommendations of the U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

· Qualified child nutrition professionals will provide students with access to a variety of affordable, nutritious, and appealing foods that meet the health and nutrition needs of students; will accommodate the religious, ethnic, and cultural diversity of the student body in meal planning; and will provide clean, safe, and pleasant settings and adequate time for students to eat.

· To the maximum extent practicable, schools will participate in available federal school meal programs.

· Schools will provide and promote nutrition education and physical education to foster lifelong habits of healthy eating and physical activity and will establish linkages between health education, school meal programs, and related community services.

A process shall be implemented to engage students, parents, physical and/or health education teachers, school food service professionals, school health professionals, school board members, school administrators, and other interested community members in developing, implementing, monitoring, and reviewing this policy. 

Nutrition Education and Promotion

Each school is encouraged to 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 subjects 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 school gardens;
• promotes fruits, vegetables, whole grain products, low-fat and 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; and
• includes training for teachers and other staff.

STUDENTS 09.2

(Continued)

Student Welfare and Wellness

Monitoring

The Superintendent/designee will monitor compliance with this and related policies. At the school level, the Principal/designee will monitor compliance with those policies in his/her school and will report on the school's compliance as directed by the Superintendent/designee.

Progress Report

The District shall periodically measure and update the public on the content and progress of implementation of its school wellness efforts. The report shall include:

1. Extent to which the District is in compliance with this policy;

2. A comparison of how the District measures up to model wellness policies provided by recognized state and national authorities; and

3. A description of the measurable progress made towards reaching goals of the District wellness policy and addressing any gaps identified in the wellness report for the previous year.

Reference:

P. L. 111-296

Adopted/Amended: 07/18/2011

Order #: 8