FILE: JGB
Cf: EE
SCHOOL WELLNESS
The Orleans Parish School Board recognizes that schools should play a vital role in promoting student health, preventing childhood obesity, and combating problems associated with poor nutrition and physical inactivity. The School Board shall promote a healthy school environment by supporting and emphasizing student wellness, good nutrition, and regular physical activity and making these an integral part of the total learning environment.
Schools have a responsibility to help students learn, establish, and maintain patterns of nutrition and physical activity that facilitate a healthy environment. Well-planned and effectively implemented school nutrition and fitness programs serve to enhance a student’s overall health, as well as their behavior and academic achievement. The School Board shall require that all foods made available on school campuses should offer children nutritious choices, and physical activity should be incorporated into the school day as often as possible.
The School Board shall develop, implement, and maintain a comprehensive plan to encourage healthy eating and physical activity in all public schools of Orleans Parish. The plan shall make effective use of school and community resources and equitably serve the needs and interests of all schools and staff.
SPECIFIC WELLNESS GOALS
Goal 1: Promote Nutrition Education
The School Board shall:
Promote and implement nutrition education that promotes lifelong healthful eating practices.
Provide repeated opportunities for students to taste foods that are low in fat, sodium, and added sugars, and high in vitamins, minerals, and fiber.
Focus on positive aspects of healthful eating behaviors.
Promote social learning techniques such as role modeling, providing incentives, and developing social resistance skills.
Hire and maintained qualified food service staff to assist students with healthy eating choices.
Provide professional development activities for school nutrition staff and teachers in the area of nutrition.
Provide nutrition education activities and promotions that involve students, and staff, and parents.
Provide nutritional information to parents that will encourage parents to provide safe and nutrition foods for their children.
Goal 2: Increase Physical Activity
Students will be given opportunities for physical activity through physical education courses and a range of extra-curricular programs such as athletics, physical activity clubs, and field trips.
State certified physical education instructors will teach all physical education classes.
Elementary level schools will be encouraged to provide students a daily recess Period or be given the opportunity for physical activity during the school day through physical education class or the integration of physical activity into the academic curriculum.
Physical education will include the instruction of individual activities as well as competitive and non-competitive team sports to encourage life-long physical activity.
Schools will provide adequate equipment for the students to participate in physical education. Physical activity equipment and facilities on school grounds will be safe.
School staff will be encouraged to participate in physical activities to serve as role models.
Parents and guardians will be encouraged to support students’ participation in physical activities, to be physically active role-models, and to include physical activities in family plans.
Goal 3: Provide Nutrition Standards for All Foods Available on School Campuses during the School Day
Provide Nutritious and healthy food choices as recommended in La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §17:17.1, which includes healthy standards for foods and beverages sold on school grounds during the normal school day.
Offer a school lunch, breakfast and snack programs with menus that meet the meal patterns and nutrition standards established by the U. S. Department of Agriculture and the Louisiana Department of Education, and the USDA requirement as noted under 7 CFR Part 210 and Part 220.
Provide that foods and beverages served or sold in vending machines and through school activity sales will meet the nutrition requirement as outlined in federal and state standards and requirements.
Follow Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education policies on competitive foods, vending and extra sales as outlined in federal and state standards and requirements.
Provide that food and beverages offered other than lunch or breakfast should offer replacement nutrient value to the consumer. The item should offer a good source of nutrients, be moderate in sodium, and be moderate in calories.
Provide whole and enriched grain products that are high in fiber, low in added fats and sugars, and served in appropriate portion sizes consistent with the current USDA standards available for student’s consumption.
Provide fresh, frozen, canned or dried fruits and vegetables using healthy food preparation techniques and have 100% fruit and vegetable juice available for students’ selections.
Make school meals accessible to all students with a variety of delivery strategies, such as breakfast in the classroom, grab-and-go meals, or alternate eating sites.
Offer skim or 1% milk fat beverages selection instead of 2% milk fat or whole milk beverages and encourage the consumption of lower fat options.
Monitor and limit the sale of carbonated beverages, fast foods and foods of low nutritional value in the cafeteria during meal service.
Goal 4: Encourage other School-Based Activities Designed to Promote Student Wellness
Encourage parental involvement through community partnerships, recipes and instructional activities for parents during parent workshops, open houses and other parental involvement activities.
Encourage school based parental involvement staff to work collectively with school nutrition staff in planning events for parents to ensure that promoting healthy lifestyles (eating and activities) are included.
Provide a clean, safe, attractive environment for students and staff.
Provide access to hand washing and hygiene facilities for students and staff during all meals.
Consistent with State Guidelines, school policies shall prohibit food from being withheld from students as punishment.
The link between nutrition and learning is well documented. Healthy eating patterns are essential for students to achieve their full academic potential, full physical and mental growth, and lifelong health and well-being. Schools have a responsibility to provide an environment which encourages the establishment and maintenance of a lifelong, healthy eating pattern.
A healthy school environment goes beyond school meals in the cafeteria. A healthy lifestyle and maintaining a healthy weight requires a combination of healthy food choices and appropriate amount of physical activity. All foods made available on school campuses should offer children nutritious choices, and physical activity should be incorporated into the school day as often as possible. The healthy, physically active child is more likely to be academically successful.
MONITORING AND POLICY REVIEW
Monitoring
The Superintendent or his/her designee shall be responsible for assuring compliance with established district-wide nutrition and physical activity wellness policies. In each school, the principal or designee will ensure compliance with those policies in his/her school and will report on the school’s compliance to the Superintendent or his/her designee.
School food service staff, at the school or district level, shall assess compliance with nutrition policies within school food service areas and report on this matter to the Superintendent (or if done at the school level, to the school principal).
The Superintendent or his/her designee shall develop a summary report at least annually on compliance with the School Board’s established nutrition and physical activity wellness policies, based on input from schools within the district. The report shall be provided to the School Board, the School Health Advisory Council (SHAC), and also distributed to the schools, parent/teacher organizations, school principals, and school health services personnel throughout Orleans Parish.
Policy Review
Assessments shall be taken annually to help review policy compliance, assess progress, and determine areas in need of improvement. As part of that review, the School Board and staff shall review all nutrition and physical activity policies; provision of an environment that supports healthy eating and physical activity; and nutrition and physical education policies and program elements using the Louisiana Department of Education Wellness Policy Evaluation tool and share these results with the School Health Advisory Council (SHAC). The School Board and individual schools within the district shall, as necessary, revise the wellness policies and develop work plans to facilitate their implementation.
Ref: 42 USC 1751 et seq. (Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act)
42 USC 1771 et seq. (Child Nutrition Act of 1966)
7 CFR 210 (National School Lunch Program)
7 CFR 210.31 (Local school wellness policy)
7 CFR 220 (School Breakfast Program)
La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§17:17.1, 17:197.1
Orleans Parish School Board