507.09 Wellness
507.09 WellnessThe Harlan Community School District Board of Education is committed to the optimal development of every student. The board believes for students to have the opportunity to achieve personal, academic, developmental, and social success, there needs to be a positive, safe, and health-promoting learning environment at every level, in every setting.
The school district provides a comprehensive learning environment for developing and practicing lifelong wellness behaviors. The entire school environment, not just the classroom, shall be aligned with healthy school district goals to positively influence a student's understanding, beliefs and habits as they relate to good nutrition and regular physical activity. In accordance with law and this belief, the board commits to the following:
The school district will identify at least one goal in each of the following areas:
- Nutrition Education and Promotion: Schools will provide nutrition education and engage in nutrition promotion that helps students develop lifelong healthy eating behaviors.
- Physical Activity: Schools will provide students with age and grade appropriate opportunities to engage in physical activity that meet the Iowa Healthy Kids Act.
- Other School Based Activities that Promote Wellness: As appropriate, schools will support students, staff, and parents’ efforts to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
The following nutritional guidelines for food available on school campuses will be adhered to:
- Meals served through the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Program will be appealing and meet, at a minimum, nutrition requirements established by state and federal law;
- Schools providing access to healthy foods outside the reimbursable meal programs before school, during school and thirty minutes after school shall meet the United States Department of Agriculture (“USDA”) Smart Snacks in Schools nutrition standards, at a minimum. This includes such items as those sold through a la carte lines, vending machines, student run stores, and fundraising activities;
- Snacks provided to students during the school day without charge (e.g., class parties) will meet standards set by the district in accordance law. The district will provide parents a list of foods and beverages that meet nutrition standards for classroom snacks and celebrations; and
- Schools will only allow marketing and advertising of foods and beverages that meet the Smart Snacks in school nutritional standards on campus during the school day.
The superintendent or superintendent’s designee shall implement and ensure compliance with the policy by:
- Reviewing the policy at least every three years and recommending updates as appropriate for board approval;
- Implementing a process for permitting parents, students, representatives of the school food authority, teachers of physical education, school health professionals, the school board, administrators and the public to participate in the development, implementation, and periodic review and update of the policy;
- Making the policy and updated assessment of the implementation available to the public (e.g., posting on the website, newsletters, etc). This information shall include the extent to which the schools are in compliance with policy and a description of the progress being made in attaining the goals of the policy; and
- Developing administrative regulations, which shall include specific wellness goals and indicators for measurement of progress consistent with law and district policy.
Legal Reference:
42 U.S.C. §§ 1751 et seq.
42 U.S.C. §§ 1771 et seq.
Iowa Code §§ 256.7(29); 256.11(6).
281 I.A.C. 12.5; 58.11.
Cross Reference:
504.5 Student Fund Raising
504.6 Student Activity Program
710 School Food Services
Adopted: Unknown
Revised/Reviewed: 3.2.2020
Reviewed: 06.16.2023
507.09.R1 Wellness Regulation
507.09.R1 Wellness RegulationWELLNESS REGULATION
To implement the Wellness Policy, the following district specific goals have been established:
Goal 1 – Nutrition Education and Promotion: Schools will provide nutrition education and engage in nutrition promotion that help students develop lifelong healthy eating behaviors. The goal(s) for addressing nutrition education and nutrition promotion include the following:
- The school district will provide nutrition education that shall be integrated into the appropriate curriculum as part of a sequential, comprehensive, standards-based program as these areas come up on the review cycle or at a time which meets legislated guidelines.
- Include enjoyable, developmentally-appropriate, culturally-relevant, and participatory activities, such as cooking demonstrations or lessons, promotions, taste-testing, farm visits, and school gardens
- Nutrition education will involve sharing information with families and the broader community to positively impact students and the health of the community. The school district will collaborate with multiple agencies to enhance nutrition education and promotions. Media communication may include local newspapers and radio stations as well as the district web site.
- Nutrition Education may include training for teachers and staff.
Goal 2 – Physical Activity: Schools will provide students and staff with age and grade appropriate opportunities to engage in physical activity that meet federal and state guidelines, including the Iowa Healthy Kids Act. The goal(s) for addressing physical activity include the following:
- Engage students in moderate to vigorous activity during at least 50 percent of physical education class time
- Recess at the elementary school should be a minimum of 20 minutes a day, outdoors as weather and time permits, and encourages moderate to vigorous physical activity.
- Encourage teachers to incorporate movement and kinesthetic learning approaches into core subject instructions when possible;
- Offer classroom health education that complements physical education by reinforcing the knowledge and self-management skills needed to maintain a physically active lifestyle
Goal 3 – Other School-Based Activities that Promote Student Wellness: Schools will support student, staff, and parents’ efforts to maintain a healthy lifestyle, as appropriate. The goal(s) for addressing other school-based activities that promote student wellness include the following
- Educate parents/guardians and school staff about providing healthy beverages and foods for classroom snacks and celebrations by providing a list of foods and beverages that meet nutrition standards.
- Classrooms are encouraged to limit celebrations involving food to one time a month.
- Provide communication to parents encouraging packing healthy meals and snacks and to refrain from including beverages and foods that do not meet established nutrition standards for individual foods and beverages.
- Provide school staff a list of alternative ways to reward children rather than foods and beverages
- Provide school staff communication about standards and nutrition guidelines for all foods and beverages sold to students during the school day (before school and 30 minutes after school).
- The district will support the health of all students by hosting health screenings, hosting health clinics, and wellness checks in the appropriate education areas.
- Engage students and parents, through taste-tests of new school meal items and surveys to identify new, healthful, and appealing food choices and encouraging students to try new foods.
- Support the consumption of breakfast at school by implementing alternative breakfast options to the extent possible (e.g., grab n’ go, breakfast in the classroom, breakfast after 1st period, etc.
- Discourage students from sharing foods or beverages during meal or snack times, given concerns about allergies and dietary needs
- Students will be provided adequate time to eat with the provision of the district’s breakfast and lunch programs.
Public Involvement: There is a process for permitting parents, students, representatives of the school food authority, teachers of physical education, school health professionals, the school board, administrators and the public to participate in the development, implementation, and periodic review and update of the policy.
- The district has a local wellness policy committee to advise the district on the development, implementation, and improvement of the school wellness policy
Adopted: Unknown
Revised/Reviewed: 3.2.2020
Reviewed 07/17/2023