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Winfield City Board of Education

Terrell Kirkpatrick, Superintendent of Education

 

 

Wellness Policy

On

Nutrition and Physical Activity

 

 

 

Committee Members

 

Mrs. Terri Miles, Vice Principal, Chairman

Mr. Terrell Kirkpatrick, Superintendent

Ms. Sandy McCaleb, Child Nutrition Director

Mr. Benjie Parrish, Winfield High School Principal

Mrs. Susan Harris, Board Of Education Member

Mr. Chris Cook, Winfield Middle Principal

Mr. Randy Thomley, Winfield Elementary Principal

Mrs. Tammy Cummings, General Public Representative

Mrs. Janell Aultman, General Public Representative

Mr. Brad Cunningham, Parent Involvement and Drug Free Coordinator

Mrs. Cindy Sager, RN, Winfield City Systems School Nurse

Alexandria Hatfield, Student Representative – Elementary

Will Addison, Student Representative - Middle

Courtney Webb, Student Representative – High

Mr. Doug Miles, Vice Principal, Athletic Director

Mr. George Hennicke, Physical Education Teacher

 

 

 

Winfield City Board Of Education

Wellness Policy on Physical Activity and Nutrition

 

Preamble:

Whereas, children need access to healthful foods and opportunities to be physically active in order to grow, learn, and thrive;

Whereas, good health fosters student attendance and education;

Whereas, obesity rates have doubled in children and tripled in adolescents over the last two decades, and physical inactivity and excessive calorie intake are the predominant causes of obesity;

Whereas, heart disease, cancer, stroke, and diabetes are responsible for two-thirds of deaths in the United States, and major risk factors for those diseases, including unhealthy eating habits, physical inactivity, and obesity, often are established in childhood;

Whereas, 33% of high school students do not participate in sufficient vigorous physical activity and 72% of high school students do not attend daily physical education classes;

Whereas, only 2% of children (2 to 19 years) eat a healthy diet consistent with the five main recommendations from the Food Guide Pyramid;

Whereas, nationally, the items most commonly sold from school vending machines, school stores, and snack bars include low-nutrition foods and beverages, such as soda, sports drinks, imitation fruit juices, chips, candy, cookies, and snack cakes;

Whereas, school districts around the country are facing significant fiscal and scheduling constraints; and

Whereas, community participation is essential to the development and implementation of successful school wellness policies;

 

Thus, the Winfield City School District 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.

Therefore, it is the policy of the Winfield City School District that:

  • The school district shall engage 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.
  • All students in grades K-12 shall have opportunities, support, and encouragement to be physically active on a regular basis.
  • Foods and beverages sold or served at school shall meet the nutritional recommendations of the U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
  • Qualified child nutrition professionals shall provide students with access to a variety of affordable, nutritious, and appealing foods that meet the health and nutrition needs of students; shall accommodate the religious, ethnic, and cultural diversity of the student body in meal planning; and shall provide clean, safe, and pleasant settings and adequate time for students to eat.
  • To the maximum extent practicable, all schools in our district shall participate in available federal school meal programs, including the School Breakfast Program, National School Lunch Program, After-School Snack Program (Elementary School).
  • Schools shall provide nutrition education and physical education to foster lifelong habits of healthy eating and physical activity, and shall establish linkages between health education and school meal programs, and with related community services.

School Action Plan:

 

The Winfield City Board Of Education will provide a district wellness policy that will serve as building blocks for individual schools to write an action plan for improving student health that is unique to the individual needs of their school.  Schools should organize a school health council to develop, implement, monitor, review, and, as necessary, revise school nutrition and physical activity policies.  Each school shall conduct evaluations using a nationally recognized, validated survey to identify strengths and weaknesses and prioritize changes as an action plan for improving student health.   The assessment and planning steps shall involve teachers, child nutrition staff or other school staff as appropriate, parents, students, and the community.

 

  • Nutritional Quality of Foods and Beverages Sold and Served on Campus

 

The school campus shall reflect a healthy nutrition environment.  Adequate time to eat shall be allowed to have a pleasant dining experience.  Schools shall ensure that all students have daily access to meals served.  Schools may not establish policies, class schedules, bus schedules, or other barriers that directly or indirectly restrict access to or the completion of meals.

 

School Meals

Meals served through the National School Lunch, Breakfast Programs and After-School Snack Program shall:

  • Be appealing and attractive to children and be served in clean and pleasant settings using HACCP food safety principles to ensure the best quality of food;
  • Schools shall focus on improving meal quality and increasing the variety of fruits and vegetables, especially raw fruits and vegetables;
  • Serve only low-fat (1%) and fat-free milk3 and nutritionally-equivalent non-dairy alternatives (to be defined by USDA);
  • Serving sizes shall comply with the meal pattern requirements as described by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) regulations.  Foods served and/or sold through the cafeteria shall adhere to the guidelines established by the USDA and published in the School Meals Initiative (SMI) for Healthy Children, 1995 guidance.  Serving size of fresh fruits and vegetables or canned fruits and non-starchy vegetables shall not be limited;
  • School meals must average, for a weekly period, meeting the standards of the “Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005”, which recommends no more than 30% of an individual’s calories be furnished from fat and 10% or less from saturated fat.  School lunches shall meet the standard of providing one-third and school breakfasts the standard of providing one-fourth of the Recommended Dietary Allowance for protein, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, iron, calcium, and calories;
  • Emphasis is to be placed on increasing the quantity of whole grains served with the ultimate goal of half of all the grains served to be whole grain.   Products are considered Whole Grain if a whole grain product is listed as the primary grain ingredient in the ingredient statement.  Examples include whole wheat flour, cracked wheat, brown rice, yellow corn meal and oatmeal;
  • Schools must review the items offered as ala carte sales and evaluate the nutritional contributions of each item.  Foods not meeting the criteria listed below shall be eliminated or portion sizes reduced in order to be in compliance with the requirements;
  • All deep fried products are to be limited in the amount and number of times served.  Fried vegetable products (potatoes, okra, etc.) are to be limited as to the number of times served and are not to exceed three ounces per serving.  Preparation techniques shall be modified to reduce the number of fried foods and increase baking, steaming, and roasting preparation methods.

Breakfast:

All children shall be encouraged to have breakfast, either at home or at school, in order to meet their nutritional needs and enhance their ability to learn:

  • All Winfield City schools shall operate a School Breakfast Program.
  • Schools administrators shall arrange bus schedules and utilize methods to serve school breakfasts that encourage participation. 
  • Schools shall notify parents and students of the availability of the School Breakfast Program.
  • School Administrators shall encourage parents to provide a healthy breakfast for their children that do not eat breakfast at school.  This can be accomplished through newsletter articles, take-home materials, or other means.

 

 

Free and Reduced-price Meals:

Federal Law requires that schools make every effort to eliminate any social stigma attached to, and prevent the overt identification of, students who are eligible for free and reduced-price school meals. 

  • Schools in Winfield City shall utilize electronic identification and payment systems that do not identify the student’s eligibility. 
  • In the event of computer failure, school cafeterias shall have procedures in place to account for meals without exposing individual student’s eligibility status.
  • School Administrators are to promote the availability of school meals to all students and encourage participation in the lunch and breakfast program.

 

Meal Times and Scheduling by school administrators:

  • Provide adequate time for students to eat and enjoy school meals (a minimum of 15-20 minutes for breakfast and 18-25 minutes for lunch);
  • Ensure school staff is assigned to monitoring duties in the lunchroom to provide supervision in the serving and dining areas.
  • Schedule meal periods at appropriate times, e.g., lunch shall be scheduled between 10:30 a.m. and 1:25 p.m.;
  • Shall not schedule tutoring, club, or organizational meetings or activities during mealtimes, unless students may eat during such activities;
  • Provide students access to hand washing or hand sanitizing before they eat meals or snacks.

 

Sharing of Foods and Beverages: 

Schools shall discourage students from sharing their foods or beverages with one another during meal or snack times, given concerns about allergies and other restrictions on some children's diets. 

 

Qualifications for Child Nutrition Director:

Any person employed as a CNP Director must meet the standards of the Code of Alabama (1975) 290-080-030-05 and 06 as amended June 6, 1994.  A CNP Director who does not meet the educational requirements must complete those requirements within a three year period from the date of employment.  If educational requirements are not met within the three year period the person cannot continue being employed as a CNP Director.

 

 

Qualifications of School Food Service Staff:  

Qualified nutrition professionals shall administer the school meal programs. As part of the school district's responsibility to operate a food service program, we shall provide continuing professional development for all nutrition professionals in schools. Staff development programs shall include appropriate certification and/or training programs for child nutrition directors, school nutrition managers, and cafeteria workers, according to their levels of responsibility.  School nutrition staff development programs are available through the USDA, School Nutrition Association and the National Food Service Management Institute.  School food service staff shall be encouraged to participate and maintain certification through the School Nutrition Association.

 

Sale of Food and Beverages:  Foods and beverages sold Individually (i.e., foods sold outside of reimbursable school meals, such as through vending machines, cafeteria a la carte [snack] lines, fundraisers, school stores, etc.) at a minimum, must follow the Alabama State Department of Education guidelines as identified in the “Implementation Guidelines for Exercise and Nutrition Recommendations” adopted by the State Board of Education on July 12th, 2005.  Schools shall provide a consistent environment that is conducive to healthful eating behaviors during school hours. 

The school day is defined as the period of time that students arrive at school until the end of the last scheduled class.

 

  1. Elementary Schools:    The school administrator shall approve, monitor and provide all food and beverage sales to students in elementary schools following the guidelines established by the State Department of Education. Given young children's limited nutrition skills, food in elementary schools shall be sold as balanced meals. If available, foods and beverages sold individually shall be limited to low-fat and non-fat milk, fruits, and non-fried vegetables and shall meet the following nutrition and portion size standards on pages 8 and 9.

 

  1. Middle Schools:  The school administrator shall approve, monitor and provide all food and beverage sales to students in middle schools following the guidelines established by the State Department of Education.  All foods and beverages sold individually outside the reimbursable school meal programs (including those sold through a la carte [snack] lines, vending machines, student stores, or fundraising activities) during the school day shall meet the following nutrition and portion size standards on pages 8 and 9.

 

 

  1. High Schools: The school administrator shall approve, monitor and provide all food and beverage sales to students in high schools following the guidelines established by the State Department of Education.  All foods and beverages sold individually outside the reimbursable school meal programs (including those sold through a la carte [snack] lines, vending machines, and student stores, or fundraising activities) during the school day shall meet the following nutrition and portion size standards on pages 8 and 9.

 

No food of any type may be sold at any place on the school campus during meal service, to include breakfast and lunch times.

 

State Guidelines on Foods and Beverages

  • Elementary Schools: (Elementary schools are defined as a school where the majority of the students are pre-K through 5th grade). Effective with the 2008-2009 school year, no carbonated soft drinks shall be available for sale to students at any time during the school day.  No item considered to be in this category of carbonated drinks may be provided free of charge to students or brought on campus for consumption.  No food or beverage that has high fructose corn syrup or sugar listed as the first ingredient may be made available during the school day.  No vending display front may display any product that is not water or 100% fruit juice.  Items that may be sold include: (1) non-carbonated unflavored water any size, (2) up to 8 ounces 100% fruit juices with no added sweeteners (no more than 120 calories, (3) up to 8 ounces low fat or non fat milk (flavored or non-flavored with no more than 150 calories).  No sale of food or beverage items of any kind or other competing food/beverage sales are to be available to students during meal service times.
  • Middle Schools:  A Middle School is defined as a school where the majority of the students are in grades 4 through 8.  Effective with the 2008-2009 school year, all carbonated drinks are prohibited in both elementary and middle schools.  No item considered to be in this category of carbonated drinks may be provided free of charge to students or brought on campus for consumption.  No food or beverage that has high fructose corn syrup or sugar listed as the first ingredient may be made available during the school day.  All vending machines fronts, other than those located in athletic spectator settings shall be only water and juice.  Items that may be sold:  (1) Any size unflavored bottled water (2) Up to 10 ounces low fat flavored or non-flavored milk no more than 187 calories (150 calories per 8 ounces. (3) Up to 10 ounces 100% fruit juice with no added sweeteners (up to 150 calories for 10 ounces, 120 calories for 8 ounces.)
  • High Schools: (a High School is defined as a school where the majority of the students are in grades 9 through 12). Effective with the 2008-2009 school year, all full sugar carbonated drinks are prohibited in any school.  High schools may sell no calorie or low calorie carbonated drinks as long as they do not contain more than 10 calories per 8 ounces, with a 20 ounce maximum.  At a maximum, 50% of the selections may be carbonated beverages, these selections must be no or low calorie selections.  No item considered to be in this full sugar category of carbonated drinks may be provided free of charge to students or brought on campus for consumption.  No food or beverage that has high fructose corn syrup or sugar listed as the first ingredient may be made available during the school day.  All vending machine fronts, other than those located in athletic spectator settings shall be only water and juice products.  Items that may be sold: (1) Bottled water any size (2) No or low calorie non-carbonated flavored or unflavored water up to 20 ounces (10 calories per 8 ounces not to exceed 25 calories), (3) Milk up to 12 ounces low fat or non fat, flavored or non flavored (up to 270 calories, 180 calories per 8 ounces) (4) Up to 12 ounces 100% fruit juice with no added sweeteners (up to 180 calories, 120 calories per 8 ounces), (5) Tea, and sports drinks up to 12 ounces with no more than 99 calories (66 per 8 ounces).  No sale of food or beverage items of any kind or other competing food/beverage sales are to be available to students during meal service times.
  • Foods and drinks not allowed in the cafeteria:  Foods or beverages that cannot be served in the cafeteria cannot be purchased by students elsewhere and brought into the cafeteria for consumption.
  • Teachers and other staff should understand the importance of fully implementing the nutrition and health education curriculum and become familiar with its underlying theory and concepts.  The State Task Force recommendation is that teachers and other staff members assess and improve their own eating practices and make them aware of the behavioral messages they give as role models.    
  • Sack Lunches:  Parents that prepare sack lunches for consumption on school premises shall be encouraged to follow these same guidelines.  Lunches from home should be in a plain paper bag or a lunch box.  Restaurant meals are not allowed.

 

Foods of Minimal Nutritional Value:

In addition to the restriction regarding the sale of carbonated beverages listed, no one on the school campus may provide access to “for sale” or “free” foods and beverages of minimal nutritional value as identified under USDA regulations 7 CFR 210, Appendix B, Categories of Foods of Minimal Nutritional Value until after the end of the last scheduled class.  These classifications are as follows:

  • Water ices, including frozen sicles, ices and slushes, except those ices containing 100% fruit juice.
  • Chewing gum, flavored or unflavored from natural or synthetic sources.
  • Certain candies, processed predominately from sugar or corn syrup sweeteners or artificial sweeteners combined with a variety of ingredients including but not limited to:
  • Hard candies, sour balls, fruit balls, candy sticks, starlight mints, after dinner mints, sugar wafers, rock candy, cinnamon candies, breath mints, and cough drops.
  • Jellies and gums, such as gum drops, jelly beans, jellied or flavored fruit slices.
  • Marshmallow candies or other aerated sugar, corn syrup or invert sugar confections.
  • Fondants, such as candy corn or soft mints
  • Licorice
  • Spun candy or cotton candy
  • Candy coated popcorn

 

Allowable snack and A la carte items:

All snack or A la carte items sold or provided must meet the following guidelines per one ounce serving:

    • Less than 30 grams of carbohydrates.
    • Less than 360 milligrams of sodium
    • Less than 10% of the daily value of fat
    • Containing at least 5% (and preferably 10%) of the daily value of Vitamin A, Vitamin C, iron,  calcium, or fiber

 

Additionally, the portion sizes shall follow these requirements:

      • Chips, 1.25 ounce maximum, baked or containing no more than 7.5 grams of fat per bag.  This includes crackers, popcorn, Trail mix, nuts, seeds, dried fruit, and pretzels.
      • Cookies/cereal bars, 1.33 ounce maximum
      • Pastries and muffins, 2 ounce maximum
      • Frozen dairy desserts, low fat ice cream, puddings, jellied fruit bowls, 4 ounce maximum.
      • Yogurt, (low fat) less than 30 grams total carbohydrate, 8 ounce maximum.
      • Unflavored water may be any size in any school.
      • Juices must be 100% juice with no added sweeteners.  Maximum size:  Elementary 8 ounces, Middle School 10 ounces and High School 12 ounces.
      • Milk, flavored or non-flavored, 1% or less: 

Elementary 8 ounces, Middle 10 ounces, High School 12 ounces 

      • High Schools may offer teas and sports drinks.  Maximum size 12 ounces and may contain no more than 99 calories.
      • High Schools may offer flavored water.  Up to 20 ounces not to exceed 25 calories (10 per 8 ounces).
      • A choice of at least two fruits and/or non-fried vegetables shall be offered for sale at any location on the school site where foods are sold. Such items could include, but are not limited to, fresh fruits and vegetables; 100% fruit or vegetable juice; fruit-based drinks that are at least 50% fruit juice and that do not contain additional caloric sweeteners; cooked, dried, or canned fruits (canned in fruit juice or light syrup); and cooked, dried, or canned vegetables (that meet the above fat and sodium guidelines).

 

Fund Raising Activities:

All fundraising activities (except for contracts issued before August 8, 2005) that involve the selling of food during school hours or as students gather on school campus before school begins or as students wait on transportation or otherwise exit the school campus following school dismissal shall reinforce food choices that promote good health.  Sales during school hours shall not include those foods listed as Foods of Minimal Nutritional Value or exceed those portion sizes identified as allowable.  This also means events outside of the school day are not affected by this requirement and that booster clubs, etc., are free to select items for sale for specific fundraising and concessions sales as long as the activity does not conflict with this position. Fund raising activities that take place during school hours shall be designed to support children's health and school nutrition-education efforts, school fundraising activities shall not involve food or shall use only foods that meet the above nutrition and portion size standards for foods and beverages sold individually.

 

 

Snacks:

 Snacks served during the school day or in after-school care or enrichment programs shall make a positive contribution to children's diets and health, with an emphasis on serving fruits and vegetables as the primary snacks and water as the primary beverage. Schools shall assess if and when to offer snacks based on timing of school meals, children's nutritional needs, children's ages, and other considerations. The district shall disseminate a list of healthful snack items to teachers, after-school program personnel, and parents.

 

 

III. Nutrition and Physical Activity Promotion and Food Marketing

 

Nutrition Education and Promotion: The Winfield City School District aims to teach, encourage, and support healthy eating by students. Schools shall provide nutrition education and engage in nutrition promotion that:

  • Is offered at each grade level as part of a sequential, comprehensive, standards-based program designed to provide students with the knowledge and skills necessary to promote and protect their health;
  • Is part of not only health education classes, but also classroom instruction in subjects such as math, science, language arts, social sciences, and elective subjects;
  • Includes enjoyable, developmentally-appropriate, culturally-relevant, participatory activities, such as contests, promotions, taste testing, farm visits, and school gardens;
  • Promotes fruits, vegetables, whole grain products, low-fat and fat-free dairy products, healthy food preparation methods, and health-enhancing nutrition practices;
  • Emphasizes caloric balance between food intake and energy expenditure (physical activity/exercise);
  • Links with school meal programs, other school foods, and nutrition-related community services;
  • Teaches media literacy with an emphasis on food marketing; and
  • Includes training for teachers and other staff.
  • New employees will have 3 hours of wellness in-service.

 

Integrating Physical Activity into the Classroom Setting:

At a minimum, students will receive the Physical Education State Course of Study recommendation for per day activity and students will be encouraged to fully embrace regular physical activity as a personal behavior. All Physical Education waivers have been withdrawn as of June 30, 2005.  Waivers for exemption to physical education requirements must be approved by the State Department of Education as specified in the “no exception/no substitution policy”, which require full justification to the State Superintendent of Education in any year in which a waiver is requested.  Waivers for High School students must follow the guidelines as outlined in Instructional Code Changes (290-3-1.02(8)(f).

 

Communications with Parents:

The district/school shall support parents' efforts to provide a healthy diet and daily physical activity for their children. The district/school shall send home nutrition information and post nutrition tips on school websites.  Schools shall encourage parents to pack healthy lunches and snacks and to refrain from including beverages and foods that do not meet the above nutrition standards for individual foods and beverages. The district/school shall provide parents a list of foods that meet the district's snack standards and ideas for healthy celebrations/parties, rewards, and fundraising activities.

 

IV. Food Safety:

In accordance with the USDA Child Nutrition Reauthorization Act, each cafeteria manager shall initiate and implement a Food Safety Plan based on Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point principals.  The Board Of Education shall provide each school with Standard Operating Procedures that shall be used to establish a Food Safety Plan and monitoring procedures at each school cafeteria.  Monitoring procedures for each manager or designated CNP employee shall include:

        • Enforcing all Standard Operating Procedures
        • Complete Food Preparation Action Plan
        • Sort menus by the process approach for food safety
        • Establish control measures for each menu item being prepared
        • Complete Food Safety Checklist weekly
        • Maintain Employee Training
        • Maintain all record keeping forms as outlined in the HACCP plan
        • Review the School Food Safety Program at the beginning of each school year and when sufficient changes occur in the operation

 

V.        Monitoring and Policy Review:

 

Monitoring: The superintendent or designee shall ensure compliance with established district-wide nutrition and physical activity wellness policies. In each school, the principal or designee shall ensure compliance with those policies in his/her school and shall report on the school's compliance to the school district superintendent or designee.

School food service staff:  At the school or district level, shall ensure compliance with nutrition policies within school food service areas and shall report on this matter to the superintendent (or if done at the school level, to the school principal). In addition, the school district shall report on the most recent USDA School Meals Initiative (SMI) review findings and any resulting changes. If the district has not received a SMI review from the state agency within the past five years, the district shall request from the state agency that a SMI review be scheduled as soon as possible.

The superintendent or designee shall develop a summary report every three years on district-wide compliance with the district's established nutrition and physical activity wellness policies, based on input from schools within the district. That report shall be provided to the school board and also distributed to all school health councils, parent/teacher organizations, school principals, and school health services personnel in the district.

Policy Review: The district wellness committee shall review this policy on an annual basis.