DISTRICT WELLNESS PROGRAM

The primary goals of the Monroe City R-I School District's Wellness Program are to promote student health, reduce student overweight/obesity, facilitate student learning of lifelong healthy habits and increase student achievement. The following procedures will guide the implementation of the district wellness program.

Nutrition Guidelines

All food and beverages sold to students during the school day on any property under the jurisdiction of the district will meet the nutrition standards established by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). These nutrition standards apply to all food and beverages sold to students, including those sold in vending machines, school stores and through district-sponsored fundraisers, unless an exemption applies. For the purposes of this procedure, the school day is the time period from the midnight before to 30 minutes after the official school day.

Students will have access to free drinking water during mealtimes in the places where meals are served. Lunches served by the district will include a variety of fluid milk options consistent with the most recent Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Food and fluid milk substitutions will be provided to students in accordance with law and Board policy.

Nutrition Education

The district's nutrition education is to integrate sequential nutrition education with the comprehensive health education program and to the extent possible, the core curriculum taught at every grade level in order to provide students with the necessary knowledge and skills to make healthy nutrition decisions. In order to achieve the nutrition education goal, the district will:

1. Provide students at all grade levels with adequate nutrition knowledge including, but not limited to:
   • The benefits of healthy eating.
   • Essential nutrients.
   • Nutritional deficiencies.
   • Principals of healthy weight management.
   • The use and misuse of dietary supplements.
   • Safe food preparation, handling and storage.
2. Provide students with nutrition-related skills that minimally include the ability to:
   • Plan healthy meals.
   • Understand and use food labels
   • Apply the principals of the USDA's Dietary Guidelines for Americans and” MyPlate”.
   • Critically evaluate nutrition information, misinformation and commercial food advertising.
   • Assess personal eating habits, nutrition goal-setting and achievement.
3. Provide instructional activities that stress the appealing aspects of healthy eating and are hands­ on, behavior based, culturally relevant, developmentally appropriate and enjoyable. Examples of activities include, but are not limited to: food preparation, contests, promotions, taste testing, farm visits and school gardens.
4. Encourage district staff to cooperate with local agencies and community groups to provide students with opportunities for volunteer work related to nutrition, such as in food banks, soup kitchens or after-school programs.
5. Ensure that school counselors and school health services staff consistently promote healthy eating to students and staff, are able to recognize conditions such as unhealthy weight, eating disorders and other nutrition-related health problems and, when appropriate, provide information about these conditions, including available treatment options.
6. Coordinate the food service program with nutrition instruction. Food services staff should also work closely with those responsible for other components of the school health program to achieve common goals.

Nutrition Promotion

The district will promote the importance of good nutrition in its schools and in the community through one or more of the following activities:

1. Provide nutrition information to parents/guardians via newsletters, handouts, presentations or other appropriate means.
2. Posting nutrition tips on district websites.
3. Disseminating information about community programs that offer nutrition assistance to families.
4. Posting links to research and articles explaining the connections between good nutrition and academic performances.

If practical, the district will provide information in a language understandable to the parents/guardians.

Physical Activity

Moderate Physical Activity: Low- impact to medium-impact physical exertion to increase an individual's heart rate to rise to at least 75 percent of his or her maximum heart rate. Examples of moderate physical activity include, but not limited to, running, calisthenics or aerobic exercise. Time spent in recess and physical education counts as moderate physical activity.

Recess: A structured play environment outside of regular classroom instructional activities that allows students to engage in safe and active play.

The district's physical activity goal is to assist students in learning to value and enjoy physical activity as an ongoing part of a healthy lifestyle by ensuring that every student has the opportunity to develop the knowledge and skills necessary to perform a variety of physical activities, maintain physical fitness and regularly participate in physical activity. In order to achieve the physical activity goal, the district will:

The middle school program will provide for 250 minutes per week of moderate physical activity during each school week for 50% of the school year and Health for 50%, of the school year.

The high school program will provide for one (1) unit(s) of physical education prior to graduation. All activity will:

1. Develop a sequential program of appropriate physical education for every student. The elementary program will provide for:
   • Primary-30 minutes per day (150 week); Intermediate -20 minutes per day (100 week). Recess may be incorporated into the lunch period and held outdoors when possible.
   • An average of 230 for Primary and 175 for Intermediate minutes of moderate physical activity (recess plus P.E.) each five-day school week or an average of 46 minutes for Primary and 35 minutes for Intermediate, per school day. The program will also provide for 80 minutes for Primary and 75 minutes (bonus weeks 125 min.) for Intermediate, per week of physical education under the supervision of a certified physical education instructor.
   • Emphasize knowledge and skills for a lifetime of regular physical activity.
   • Meet the needs of all students, especially those who are not athletically gifted or who have special needs.
   • Provide a variety of activity choices, feature cooperative as well as competitive activities, and account for gender and cultural differences in students' interests.
   • Prohibit exemptions form physical education courses on the basis of participation in an athletic team, community recreation program, marching band or other school or community activity.
   • Be closely coordinated with the other components of the overall school health program.
2. Provide opportunities and encouragement for students to voluntarily participate in before and after - school physical activity programs such as intramural activities, interscholastic athletics and clubs by:
   • Providing a diverse selection of competitive and noncompetitive, as well as structured and unstructured, activities to the extent that staffing and district/community facilities permit.
   • Offering intramural physical activity programs that feature a broad range of competitive and cooperative activities for all students.
   • Encouraging partnerships between schools and businesses. Promotion of such partnerships must be appropriate and in accordance with Board policy and applicable procedures.
3. Stive to provide joint school and community recreational activities by:
   • Actively engaging families as partners in their children's education and collaborating with community agencies and organizations to provide ample opportunities for students to participate in physical activity beyond the school day.
   • Working with recreation agencies and other community organizations to coordinate and enhance opportunities available to students for physical activity during their out-of-school time.
   • Negotiating mutually acceptable, fiscally responsible arrangements with community agencies and organizations to keep district-owned facilities open for use by students, staff and community members during non-school hours and vacations.
   • Working with local public works, public safety, police departments and/or other appropriate state and federal authorities in efforts to make it safer and easier for students to walk and bike to school.
4. Prohibit the use of physical activity as a form of discipline or punishment and ensure that physical education and recess will not be withheld as punishment.
5. Discourage periods of inactivity that exceed two or more hours. When activities such as mandatory school wide testing make it necessary for students to remain indoors for long periods of time, staff should give students periodic breaks during which they are encouraged to stand and be moderately active.
6. Encourage staff to be physically active.

Other School-Based Activities

The district's goal for other school-based activities is to ensure an integrated whole-school approach to the district's wellness program. The district will achieve this goal by addressing the areas itemized below.

Community Involvement

Staff will collaborate with agencies and groups conducting nutritional education in the community to send consistent massages to students and their families.

The Wellness Program shall make effective use of district and community resources and equitably serve the need and interests of all students and staff, taking into consideration differences of gender, culture norms, physical and cognitive abilities and fitness level.

Family Involvement

The district will strive to engage families as partners in their children's education by supporting parental efforts to motivate and help their children with maintaining and improving their health, preventing  disease and avoiding health-related risk behaviors. Strategies the district may implement to achieve family involvement may include, but are not limited to:

1. Providing nutrient analyses of districtmenus.
2. Providing parents/guardians a list of appropriate foods that meet the district's nutrition standards forsnacks.
3. Providing parents/guardians with for healthy celebrations, parties, rewards and fundraising activities.
4. Encouraging parents/guardians to pack healthy lunches and snacks and to refrainfrom including beverages and foods that do not meet the district's nutritionstandards.
5. Designing curricular nutrition education and promotions to parents/guardians and thecommunity.
6. Supporting efforts of parents/guardians to provide theirchildren with opportunities to be physically active outside of school.
7. Providing information about physical education and other school-based physical activity opportunities available to students before, during and after the school day.
8. Sharing about physical activity and physical education via the district's website, newsletter, other take-home materials, special events or physical educationhomework.
9. Encourage parents/guardians to volunteer time in the classroom, cafeteria or at special events that promote student health.

If practical, the district will provide information in a language understandable to parents/guardians.

Marketing and Advertising

Marketing in district facilities will be consistent with the goals of the district's Wellness Program and comply with Board policy. The district will strive to promote the Wellness Program and educate parents regarding the quality of district foods.

Tobacco advertising is not permitted on district property, at district-sponsored events or in district­ sponsored publications. Food and beverage marketing will be limited to the promotion of foods and beverages that meet the nutrition standards adopted by the Board. Other examples of marketing and advertising the district will scrutinize include, but are not limited to: pricing strategies that promote healthy food choices, audiovisual programming, educational incentive programs, scoreboards, book covers and vending machine displays.

Mealtimes

Students are not permitted to leave school campus during the school day to purchase food or beverages. Mealtimes will comply with the following guidelines:

1. Mealtimes will provide students with at least 10-20 minutes or when finished with meal, to eat after sitting down for breakfast and 20 minutes after sitting down for lunch.
2. Activities such as tutoring or meetings will not be during mealtimes unless students may eat during such activities.
3. Free drinking water will be available to students during meals in the meal servicearea.
4. Students will have access to hand-washing facilities before they eat meals or snacks.
5. Students will be allowed to converse duringmeals.
6. The cafeteria will be clean, orderly and inviting.
7. Adequate seating and supervision will be provided duringmealtimes.

Outdoor Air Quality

The principal or designee of each school will be responsible for daily monitoring of Air Quality Index (AQI) information provided by local authorities.

1. When the AQI is "code orange" (unhealthy for sensitive groups of people), students with a history of reactions to ozone exposure will be permitted to reduce their outdoor exertion level or time spent outdoors, and the staff will arrange alternative Indoor physical activities.
2. Appropriately trained staff responsible for student supervision will monitor such students for symptoms of respiratory distress.When the AQI is "code red" (unhealthy), students with a history of reactions to ozone exposure will remain indoors and participate in indoor physical activities. Appropriately trained staff responsible for student supervision will monitor such students for symptoms of respiratory distress. All other students will be allowed to engage in no more than one hour of heavy exertion (i.e., activities that involve high-intensity exercise such as basketball, soccer and running) while outdoors.
3. When the AQI is "code purple" (very unhealthy) or "code maroon" (hazardous), all students will be kept indoors and participate in indoor physical activities. Appropriately trained staff responsible for student supervision will monitor all students for symptoms of respiratory distress.

Staff Development and Training

All staff will be provided with ongoing training and professional development related to all areas of student wellness. The pre-service and ongoing in-service training will include teaching strategies for behavior change and will focus on giving teachers the skills they need to use non-lecture, active learning methods. Staff responsible for nutrition education will be adequately prepared and regularly participate in professional development activities to effectively deliver the nutrition education program as planned. Staff responsible for implementing the physical education program will be properly certified and regularly participates in area-specific professional development activities.

Qualified nutrition professional will administer the district meal program and will receive ongoing, area­ specific professional development. The district's food services Food Management Director will provide and oversee professional development for all district nutrition professionals. Staff development will include appropriate certification and/or training programs for child nutrition directors, school nutrition managers and cafeteria workers,  according to their levels of responsibility.

Staff Wellness

The Monroe City R-I School District 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 district wellness committee composed of at least one staff member; school nurse or other health professional; employs benefits specialist; and other appropriate personnel.

Sun Safety

"Sun safety" describes a range of behaviors that include wearing appropriate clothing, applying sunscreen and limiting sun exposure. The sun safety program will focus on outdoor behavior and will be developmentally appropriate, active, engaging and taught in lessons that emphasize the positive benefits of sun safety. Sun safety education will be designed to assist students with:

1. Knowledge abouttheharmfuleffectsofthesunandwaystoprotectskin.
2. Knowledge about how to assess personal sun safety habits, set goals for improvement and achieve thesegoals.

Tobacco

Tobacco use prevention education will focus on all grades with particular emphasis on middle school and reinforcement in all later grades. Instructional activities will be participatory and developmentally appropriate. Tobacco use prevention education programs will be implemented in accordance with Board policy, relevant administrative procedures and law.

Policy Review

The Superintendent/Other Administration will provide policy revision recommendations to the Board as part of the periodic report. The Board will revise the wellness policy as it deems necessary. Administrative procedures will be revised accordingly.

Board Approved Date: March 13, 2017