DISTRICT WELLNESS POLICY

 

The Odessa-Montour Central School District is committed to providing a school environment that promotes and protects children's health, well-being, and the ability to learn by fostering healthy eating and physical activity. The District has established a wellness committee to develop the District's proposed local wellness policy, making such policy recommendations for review and adoption by the Board of Education. The District's wellness committee includes, but is not limited to, representatives from each of the following groups:

 

a) Parents;

b) Faculty and Staff

c) The District's food service program;

d) The School Board;

e) The District’s health care professionals;

f) School administrators;

g) Students; and

h) members of the public.

 The Odessa-Montour School District Wellness Committee will assess current activities, programs and policies available in the District; identify specific areas of need within the District; develop the policy; and provide mechanisms for implementation, evaluation, revision and updating of the policy. The Wellness Committee is established to represent the local community’s perspective in developing the wellness policy for the District.

 Goals to Promote Student Wellness

The Odessa-Montour Central School Wellness Committee recommends the following District goals relating to nutrition education, physical activity and other school-based activities:

 Nutrition Education

The District will provide nutrition education to facilitate the voluntary adoption of healthy eating habits and other nutrition-related behaviors conducive to health and well-being by establishing the following standards for:

1. Classroom teaching:

a. Adapting the New York State Learning Standards for Health, Physical  Education and Home Economics

Standard 1:   Personal Health and Fitness

Students will have the necessary knowledge and skills to establish and maintain physical fitness, participate in physical activity, and maintain personal health.

Standard 2:   A Safe and Healthy Environment

Students will acquire the knowledge and ability necessary to create and maintain a safe and healthy environment.

Standard 3:   Resource Management

Students will understand and be able to manage their personal and community resources.

2. Use updated researched-based nutritional programs to be implemented into the classrooms

b) Nutritional information shared on a daily basis using announcements

 c) Education, marketing and promotion links outside the classroom:

 Information to be distributed by using the school district newsletter, school website ,a quarterly wellness brochure, and school menus

 d) Fundraising activities:

Strongly recommend fundraising activities following the GST BOCES nutritional guidelines

e) Teacher training:

A portion of the staff development time will be dedicated towards wellness education using wellness presenters.

 

Physical Activity

The Odessa-Montour Central School District will provide opportunities for every student to develop the knowledge and skills for specific physical activities, to maintain physical fitness, to regularly participate in physical activity, and to understand the short-term and long-term benefits of a physically active and healthy lifestyle.

The Wellness Committee has determined that the following standards are necessary to achieve this goal:

1. Physical education graduation requirements:

              Each student should possess 2 credits of physical education to graduate.

2. Physical education class requirements:

              Physical education classes offered 3 times per week

3. Staff training/certification for physical education:

            All physical education instructors will be New York State certified in Physical Education.

4. Physical activity outside physical education classes:

Grades K-5 will have daily recess offered

Grades 6-12 will have an optional daily recess

Other School-based Activities

The Odessa-Montour Central School District wishes to establish a school environment that presents consistent wellness messages and is conducive to healthy eating and physical activity for all. In order to present a coordinated school approach where District decision-making related to nutrition and physical activity encompasses all aspects of the school, the Wellness Committee has determined that the following standards are necessary to achieve this goal:

 

1. Federal School Meal Programs:

   The District will participate to the maximum extent practicable in available federal school meal programs [School Breakfast Program, and National School Lunch Program (including after-school snacks).
2.    Access to school nutrition programs:

            All families will be sent applications to all school nutrition programs.

      3.    Meal environment:

The school district will offer meal options that address special dietary needs

The committee strongly encourages recess to be before lunch when possible.

4.   Community access to District facilities for physical activities:

District facilities are available for community use.

5.   Community involvement:

We encourage age-appropriate programs throughout the community.

The residents of the Odessa-Montour School District community will be informed of wellness activities on a annual basis.

         6.   Sustainable food practices:

Environmentally-friendly practices such as recycling is strongly suggested in classrooms and food services. Locally grown produce is used in food service when possible.

 

Nutrition Guidelines

The District Wellness Committee recommends nutrition standards for all foods available on school campus during the school day be based upon the unique needs of the student body and the community. The goal is to encourage healthy lifelong eating habits by providing foods that are high in nutrients, low in fat and added sugars, and of moderate portion size.

Nutritional Values of Foods and Beverages

1. Reimbursable school meals served at school will minimally meet the program requirements and nutrition standards of the National School Lunch Program.

 

2. Food of minimal nutritional value on the a la carte will be replaced with more nutritional options by adhering to the GST BOCES Food Service Management Program Guidelines. In additional to these guidelines, the following standards for nutritional value of foods and beverages will be followed:

a.   Fruits and vegetables -- a choice of at least fruits and non-fried vegetables will be offered.

         b. Beverages – un-flavored, unsweetened water; 1% milk; 1% flavored milk; skim milk, 100% juices and power drinks. 

        c.   Nutrition information for products sold on campus will be readily available upon request.

1. Food served in our cafeterias will adhere to the GST BOCES Food Service Management Program.

2. Breakfast will be offered daily.

3.  Vending machines will adhere to the Nutritional Values of Food and Beverages Section (b) in this district wellness policy.

4.  Concession stands, food fundraisers, class parties and celebrations are strongly encouraged to follow the Nutritional Values of Food and Beverages Section (b) in this district wellness policy.

 

Assurance

Guidelines for reimbursable school meals shall not be less restrictive than applicable federal regulations and guidance issued pursuant to the Child Nutrition Act and the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act, as those regulations and guidance apply to schools.

Implementation and Evaluation of the Wellness Policy 

In accordance with law, the Odessa-Montour School District's wellness policy must be established by July 1, 2006; and the District will ensure school and community awareness of this policy through various means such as publication in District newsletters, District Website and/or the District calendar. Further, professional development activities for staff and student awareness training will be provided, as appropriate, on the goals of the District's wellness program, including activities/programs for the development of healthy eating habits and the incorporation of physical activity as part of a comprehensive healthy lifestyle.

 

The Odessa-Montour School District shall establish an implementation and evaluation plan for the wellness policy in order to monitor the effectiveness of the policy and the possible need for further modification over time. Accordingly, the Superintendent shall designate one or more staff members within the District or at each school as appropriate to have operational responsibility for ensuring that the District meets the goals and mandates of its local wellness policy. Designated staff members may include, but are not limited to, the following personnel:

 

a) Administrators;

b) School health personnel including the school nurse, health and/or physical education teacher; family consumer science teacher.

c) School Food Service Director.

d) Other interested staff.

These designated staff members shall periodically report to the Superintendent on the District's compliance with the wellness policy (or, if done at the building level, to the School Principal) and the Superintendent shall inform the Board of such findings. The Superintendent/designee shall prepare a summary report on District-wide compliance with the District's wellness policy based on input from schools within the District. That report will be provided to the School Board and also distributed to the wellness committee, parent-teacher organizations, Building Principals, and school health services personnel within the District. The report shall also be available to community residents upon request.

 

These designated school officials will also serve as a liaison with community agencies in providing outside resources to help in the development of nutrition education programs and physical activities. 

Evaluation and feedback from interested parties, including an assessment of student, parent, teacher, and administration satisfaction with the wellness policy, is essential to the District's evaluation program. Further, the District shall document the financial impact, if any, to the school food service program, school stores, or vending machine revenues based on the implementation of the wellness policy.

 

Odessa-Montour School District will provide nutrition education and physical education, with an emphasis on establishing lifelong habits of healthy eating and physical activity, and will establish linkages between health education and school meal programs, and with related community services. Communication with and training for teachers, parents, students, and food service personnel will be an integral part of the District's implementation plan.
 

To the extent practicable, students and parents shall be involved in the development of strategies designed to promote healthy food choices in the school environment; and the school cafeteria will provide a variety of nutritionally sound meal and beverage choices. The school will encourage students' active, age appropriate participation in decisions regarding healthy lifestyles and choices. Positive reinforcement such as letters of recognition and acknowledgment will be utilized as a means to encourage healthy eating patterns among the student population. In addition, the school will share information about the nutritional content of meals with parents and students; such information may be made available on menus, a web site, or such other "point-of-purchase" materials. 

Assessments of the Odessa-Montour School District's wellness policy and implementation efforts may be repeated on an annual basis, but it is recommended that such assessment occur no later than every three (3) years, to help review policy compliance, assess progress, and determine areas in need of improvement. The District, and individual schools within the District, will, as necessary, revise the wellness policy and develop work plans to facilitate its implementation.