Wellness Policy
1. Philosophy
The Madison
County School Board believes that a healthy
school environment goes beyond the
meals served in the cafeteria.
Maintaining a healthy lifestyle and
weight require a combination of healthy
food choices and an appropriate amount
of physical activity. A healthy and
physically active child is more likely
to be academically successful. Children
and youth who begin each day as
healthy individuals can improve their ability
to learn and are more likely to
complete their formal education. The Board
also believes that healthy staff can
more effectively perform their assigned
duties and model appropriate wellness
behaviors for students. This policy
encourages a holistic approach to
staff and student wellness that is sensitive
to individual and community needs.
2. Nutrition
Academic
performance and quality of life issues are affected by
the choice and availability of good
foods in our schools. Healthy foods
support student physical growth,
cognitive development, resistance to
disease, emotional stability and
ability to learn. Students will be encouraged
to start each day with a healthy
breakfast.
a. Nutrition guidelines that
require the use of products that are high in
fiber, low in added fats, sugar
and sodium, and served in
appropriate portion sizes
consistent with USDA standard shall be
established for all foods offered
by the district s Nutrition Services
Department of contracted vendors.
Menu and product selection
shall utilize student, parent,
staff and community advisory groups
whenever possible. Menus are
posted in the schools and on the
district website, emailed to every
teacher and administrator, and
announced via school media
productions. Menus are also included
in monthly newsletters and local
new media.
b. Nutrition services policies and
guidelines for reimbursable meals
shall not be less restrictive than
federal and state regulation
require.
c. A la carte offerings to
students shall be nutritious and meet federal
recommended guidelines. Students
PK 8 grade must buy a
lunch or bring one from home to be
eligible to purchase a la carte
items.
d. Vending Machines: The sale of
food and beverage items to
students in competition with the
District s food service program is
prohibited, including those items
classified as foods of minimum
nutritional value as listed in
the Code of Federal Regulations
210.11. Provided, however, school
organizations approved by the
School Board are permitted to sell
these items only in secondary
schools one (1) hour following the
close of the last lunch period.
Proceeds from the sell of foods
and beverage items in the serving
area during the school day shall
accrue to the food service
program, State Board Rule: Chapter
6A-7.0411C.
e. All beverage vending machines
in all school public areas and all
faculty/staff areas shall include:
1. water
2. 100% fruit juice
3. non-carbonated drinks with
less than 150 calories per container
4. no more than 1/3rd of the
choices will be carbonated
drinks
3. Health and Nutrition Education
Nutrition education shall be provided that
teaches the knowledge, skills, and
values needed to adopt healthy eating
behaviors. The Madison County Health
Department along with other
community resources can provide
nutrition and health education programs for
classroom presentations as requested.
Healthy living skills shall be taught to
provide the opportunity for all
students to understand and practice concepts
and skills related to health promotion
and disease prevention. The Madison
County School Health Services Plan
addresses the coordination of activities
to promote healthy living.
Comprehensive School Health Staff from the
Madison County Health Department will
provide health education programs
as requested. Topics include (as grade
appropriate): increased physical
activity and emphasize the health
benefits of physical activity, promote good
nutrition, provide or coordinate age
appropriate education programs related to
human sexuality and prevention of
HIV/STD, prevent or reduce alcohol,
tobacco, or other drug abuse, develop
nonviolent conflict resolution skills,
promote self-esteem, and reduce
teenage pregnancy.
a. Each school shall provide
health and nutrition education programs.
b. Students shall have access to
valid and useful health information.
c. Students shall have the
opportunity to practice behaviors that
enhance health and/or reduce
health risks during the school day.
d. Students shall be taught
communication, goal setting and decision
making skills that enhance
personal, family and community health.
4. Physical Education and Activity
Physical education and physical activity
shall be an essential element of each
school s instructional program. The
program shall provide the opportunity
for students to develop the skills,
knowledge and attitudes necessary to
participate in a lifetime of healthful
physical activity. Qualified personnel
will teach physical education and
activity whenever possible.
a. Physical Education Program. The
physical education program
shall be designed to encourage
physical activity and encourage
healthy active lifestyles. The
program shall consist of physical
activities that are sufficient to
provide a significant health benefit to
students, subject to the differing
abilities of students.
1. Participation in such
physical activity shall be encouraged
for students in kindergarten
through grade five for a
minimum of thirty minutes,
three days a week or the
equivalent.
2. Such instruction may be
provided for grades 6-8 through
formal physical education
courses, integration into other
courses, regularly scheduled
intramural activities, and/or
regularly schedules
school-wide activities.
3. High school shall require
one (1) credit for graduation, to
include one semester of
Personal Fitness (.5 credit) and
one semester of an approved
Physical Education course
(.5 credit).
4. Students electing one of
the tree-year, 18 credit
graduation options do not have
to meet the high school
requirement, and may use the
physical education courses
listed as elective credit.
Students may waive a portion or
all of the requirements only
to the extent of the law.
5. Health Services
An
effective health care delivery system that promotes
academic achievement by providing
a broad scope of services from qualified
health care providers will improve
the mental and physical health of students
and staff. The Madison County
School District and the Madison County
Health Department are required by
Florida Statute 381.0056 to jointly develop
a School Health Services Plan.
Each school is provided with a licensed
nurse or Supervised Health Tech.
Primary coordination of health
service shall be through a licensed nurse with
the support and direction of the
Madison County School District and the
Madison County Health Department.
a. A coordinated program of
accessible health services shall be
provided, to Students and
staff and may include violence
prevention, school safety,
Communicable disease prevention,
health screening, including
Body Mass Index, community health
referrals, immunizations,
parenting skills, first aid and other priority
health education topics.
6. Family, School and Community
Partnership
Long term effective
partnerships improve the planning
and implementation of health promotion
projects and events within each
school and throughout the community.
7. Staff Wellness
The
district and each work site shall provide information
about wellness resources and
services to assist in identifying and supporting
the health, safety and well being
of site staff.
a. Employees shall be encouraged
to engage in physical activity three
times weekly before or after work
hours in site-sponsored programs
or as part of a local fitness
facility.
8. Evaluation and Monitoring
The Wellness Committee members will meet
yearly to review the policy and
revise as necessary. A report will be made to
the School Board annually
concerning the effectiveness and any
recommended changes to the
Wellness Policy. To ensure compliance of
the policy, each school
administrator, or their designee, will coordinate with
staff members to complete a
compliance checklist at the end of each school
year. See appendix A for a sample
of the checklist.
STATUTORY AUTHORITY: 1003.41, 1003.42, 1003.46,
1006.06.
LAWS IMPLEMENTED:
HISTORY: Adopted: 06/20/06
Revision Date(s):
Formerly: