St. Tammany Parish Public Schools Wellness Guidance
Purpose
This Wellness Policy establishes a formal system of building a school environment that is safe and healthy, thereby enhancing the potential for academic achievement among students. Students need access to healthful foods and opportunities to be physically active in order to grow and learn.
The St. Tammany Parish School Board is committed to providing school environments that promote and protect children's health, well-being, and ability to learn by supporting healthy eating and physical activity habits. The School Food Service Director will serve as the coordinator of the Wellness Policy.
Members of the School Health Advisory Committee (SHAC), formerly known as the Wellness Policy Committee will include students, parents, teachers, food service professionals, health professionals, and other interested community members in developing, implementing, monitoring, and reviewing district-wide nutrition and physical activity policies.
Nutrition Services
Qualified Child Nutrition Program professionals will provide students with access to a variety of affordable, nutritious, and appealing foods that meet the health and nutrition needs of students; will accommodate the special dietary needs and cultural diversity of the student body in meal planning; and will provide clean, safe, and pleasant settings and adequate time for students to eat.
School Meals
St. Tammany Parish Public Schools will:
- Offer menus that meet the meal patterns and nutrition standards established by the USDA Child Nutrition Program and the Louisiana Department of Education.
- Encourage students, school staff, and families to participate in school meal programs.
- Ensure that food safety and sanitation are followed throughout the school, including providing facilities to wash hands before meal service.
- Ensure that school meals are accessible to all students with a variety of delivery strategies such as grab-and-go meals or alternate eating sites.
- Ensure that students receive adequate time to eat breakfast and lunch. (Refer to Recess Before Lunch for recess and lunch recommendations.)
- Provide a cafeteria environment that is conducive to a positive dining experience, with socializing among students and between students and adults and with supervision of eating areas by adults who model proper conduct and voice level.
Foods and Beverages Offered Outside of the Child Nutrition Programs
Foods and beverages sold to students must meet specific nutritional criteria if sold on the grounds at any time during a period beginning one-half hour before the start of the school day and ending one-half hour after the end of the school day. (Refer to Smart Snacks in Schools and Louisiana Smart Snacks Listing).
Schools should discourage the use of foods and beverages as rewards for student accomplishment. Schools are encouraged to provide healthful food and beverage choices at school parties. Schools should promote fundraisers that sell items other than food and beverages or only foods and beverages that are nutrient dense (low in calories and high in nutrients.
It is recommended that schools have suggested guidelines in the student handbook regarding all outside foods brought into the school cafeteria.
Nutrition Education
School-based nutrition education includes traditional classroom lessons. It is taught in health education and science classes and can be integrated into core content area of instruction across the curriculum. A planned, sequential curriculum where the lessons are aligned with standards, benchmarks, and grade-level expectations is essential to impact knowledge, attitude, and behavior. The cafeteria can be used as part of the total educational system for modeling behavior.
Schools will:
- Implement nutrition education programs that promote lifelong healthful eating practices that are research-based.
- Use lessons that are age-appropriate, behaviorally focused content that is developmentally appropriate and culturally relevant.
- Use curriculum and lessons that are sequential and are correlated with standards, benchmarks, and grade level expectations.
- Provide hands-on activities that are fun and engaging.
- Promote positive aspects of healthful eating behaviors.
- Cafeteria will serve as learning laboratories by providing nutrition information.
Physical Education and Activity
Schools will:
- Implement quality physical education programs that emphasize and promote participation in lifelong physical activities and reaching a health enhancing level of physical fitness among all students.
- The physical education lessons should be aligned with standards, benchmarks, and grade-level expectations.
- Provide all students physical education and physical activity that meet or exceed the minimum standards established by the Louisiana Department of Education.
- Ensure enough age-appropriate and safe equipment is in place to guarantee that all students are able to be active for physical education and physical activity.
- Ensure qualified, certified physical education teachers guide physical activity instruction in all elementary grades as well as in middle and high school physical education classes.
- Provide staff development on standards implementation for physical education instructors.
- Provide daily recess for all children in K-8th grade. (Refer to Recess Before Lunch for recess and lunch recommendations.)
- Encourage physical activity during recess for elementary students, intramurals programs, and clubs, as well as in physical education programs.
Communication
At the beginning of each school year, no later than the end of the first quarter, the SHAC will share a summary of the Wellness Policy with school staff and faculty, students, and parents via the school food services web page. Updates to the Policy may be highlighted and discussed.
Schools are encouraged to provide a link to the Wellness Policy on their web page
Monitoring and Evaluation
The School Health Advisory Committee will evaluate the policy annually and revise as necessary.
Full Plan with Attachments
