Baldwin Community Schools

As required by law, the Board of Education establishes the following wellness policy for the Baldwin Community School District.

The Board recognizes that good nutrition and regular physical activity affect the health and well being of the District's students. Furthermore, research concludes 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.

The Board, however, believes this effort to support the students' development of healthy behaviors and habits with regard to eating and exercise cannot be accomplished by the schools alone. 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.

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

A. With regard to nutrition education, the District shall:

1. Nutrition education shall be included in the Health curriculum 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 standards and benchmarks shall be age-appropriate and culturally relevant.

3. Nutrition education shall include enjoyable, developmentally appropriate and culturally relevant participatory activities, such as contests, promotions, taste testing, and others.

4. Nutrition education shall include opportunities for appropriate student projects related to nutrition, involving, when possible, community agencies and organizations.

5. Nutrition education shall extend beyond the classroom by engaging and involving the school's food service staff.

6. Nutrition education posters, such as the Food Pyramid Guide, will be displayed in the cafeteria.

7. The school cafeteria shall serve as a learning lab by allowing students to apply the knowledge, attitudes, and skills taught in the classroom when making choices at mealtime.

8. Nutrition education shall extend beyond the school by engaging and involving families and the community.

9. Nutrition education shall reinforce lifelong balance by emphasizing the link between caloric intake (eating) and exercise in ways that are age-appropriate.

10. Nutrition education benchmarks and standards include a focus on media literacy as it relates to food marketing strategies.

11. Nutrition education standards and benchmarks promote the benefits of a balanced diet that includes fruits, vegetables, whole grain products, and low-fat and fat-free dairy products.

12. Staff responsible for providing instruction in nutrition education shall regularly participate in professional development activities designed to better enable them to teach the benchmarks and standards.

13. The District shall provide information to parents that is designed to encourage them to reinforce at home the standards and benchmarks being taught in the classroom.

B. With regard to physical activity, the District shall:

Physical Education

1. The physical education curriculum shall provide sequential instruction related to the knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary to participate in lifelong, health-enhancing physical activity.

2. Physical education classes shall provide students with opportunities to learn, practice, and be assessed on developmentally appropriate motor skills and social skills, as well as knowledge.

3. The sequential, comprehensive physical education curriculum shall stress the importance of remaining physically active for life.

4. 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.

5. Planned instruction in physical education shall be sufficient for students to achieve a proficient level with regard to the standards and benchmarks established by the State.

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. Planned instruction in physical education shall generally require students to be engaged in moderate to vigorous physical activity for at least fifty percent (50%) of scheduled class time.

8. Properly certificated, highly qualified teachers shall provide all instruction in physical education.

9. Planned instruction in physical education shall teach cooperation, fair play, and responsible participation.

10. Planned instruction in physical education shall endeavor to meet the needs of all students, including those who are not athletically gifted.

11. Planned instruction in physical education shall be presented in an environment free of embarrassment, humiliation, shaming, taunting, or harassment of any kind.

12. Planned instruction in physical education shall include cooperative as well as competitive games.

13. Planned instruction in physical education shall take into account gender and cultural differences.

14. Planned instruction in physical education shall promote participation in physical activity outside the regular school day.

Physical Activity

1. Physical activity should not be employed as a form of discipline or punishment.

2. Teachers will be encouraged to integrate physical activity and movement, when possible, across the curricula and throughout the school day.

3. 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.

4. All students in grades K - 6 shall be provided with a daily recess period at least fifteen (15) minutes in duration.

5. The school shall provide information to families to encourage and assist them in their efforts to incorporate physical activity into their children's daily lives.

6. The school shall encourage families and community organizations to institute programs that support physical activity of all sorts.

7. All students in grades 7 - 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. 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 healthcare needs.

10. After-school programs should provide developmentally appropriate physical activity for the students who participate.

C. With regard to other school-based activities the District shall:

1. The schools shall provide at least fifteen (15) minutes daily for students to eat.

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. Students at junior high and high school are permitted to have bottled water only in the classroom.

5. Activities, such as tutoring or club meetings, shall not be scheduled during mealtimes, unless students may eat during those meetings.

6. 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.

7. The schools may provide opportunities for staff, parents, and other community members to model healthy eating habits by dining with students in the school dining areas.

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. 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.

11. All juices served in vending machines at school and in food services shall have no sugar added.

12. No soft drinks will be vended by machine or through the food services program.

Furthermore, with the objectives of enhancing student health and well being, and reducing childhood obesity, the following guidelines are established:

A. 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.

B. 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).

C. The food service program will strive to be financially self-supporting; however, if it is necessary to subsidize the operation, it will not be through the sale of foods with minimal nutritious value.

D. 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.

E. All foods available on campus during the school day shall comply with the current USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans, including competitive foods that are available to students a la carte in the dining area, as classroom snacks, from vending machines, for classroom parties, or at holiday celebrations.

F. The school food service program may involve in the selection of competitive food items to be sold in the schools.

G. Nutrition information for competitive foods available during the school day shall be readily available near the point of purchase.

H. All foods available to students in District programs, other than the food service program, shall be served with consideration for promoting student health and well-being.

I. Any food items sold on campus as a fund raiser shall meet the current USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

J. The school shall prepare and distribute to staff, parents, and after-school program personnel a list of snack items that comply with the current USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

K. Each classroom party held during the school day may include no more than one (1) food or beverage that does not meet the current USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

L. The food service program shall be administered by a director who is properly qualified, certificated, licensed, or credentialed, according to current professional standards.

M. Food service personnel shall receive pre-service training in food service operations.

N. Continuing professional development shall be provided for staff of the food service program.

The Superintendent shall develop administrative guidelines necessary to implement this policy, including, but not limited to, the manner in which the implementation of this policy shall be regularly evaluated by the principal of each school. The Board designates the Superintendent as the individual(s) charged with operational responsibility for verifying that the District meets the goals established in this policy.

The Superintendent shall report on the District's compliance with this policy and the progress toward achieving the goals set forth herein when requested to do so by the Board.

Review of this policy shall occur every five (5) years, by a committee appointed by the Board, consisting of a representative(s) of the Board, the administration, the food service provider, the parents, the students, and the public. The committee shall provide the Board with any recommended changes to this policy.

42 U.S.C. 1751, Sec. 204

42 U.S.C. 1771