Activities of the Wellness Council
Policy EFA-AR establishes a district Wellness Council. The Wellness Council was created to assist the district in the implementation and future revisions of the Local Wellness/Nutritional Program policy. The council is to meet quarterly and is charged with serving as a resource to school sites for implementing the policy and administrative rules. The Wellness Council will be include at least one member who is a parent, student, representative of the school food authority, school board member, school administrator, teacher, health professional, member of the public, and a member from community recreation who will be appointed by the superintendent or designee. The superintendent will appoint a chair for the Wellness Council.
The activities of the Wellness Council are defined in EFA-AR and have been expanded below to define areas of responsibility that include education, support, implementation, and development.
Education:
- Provide educational articles to schools for outreach to parents via newsletter (to help schools “support parents’ efforts to provide a healthy diet and daily physical activity for their children,” “encourage parents to pack healthy breakfast, lunches and snacks that meet nutrition standards for individual foods and beverages,” “provide information about physical education and other school-based physical activity opportunities before, during, and after the school day,” “support parents’ efforts to provide their children with opportunities to be physically active outside of school”)
- Create website links with statistics supporting the case for school food option changes, and educating parents to make healthy choices for their families
- Support information, education and alternative beverage options that will assist the district in the plan to phase out of all soft drink beverages
- Provide Healthy Kids Learn Better (HKLB) section for parent newsletters.
- Secure speakers for schools or the district from state in requested areas of HKLB (partnerships)
- Publicize trainings available around HKLB (for staff, parents)
Support:
- Establish relationships with home growers; pursue and facilitate options for local, organic, fresh food. Pursue and facilitate options for local, organic, fresh food
- Encourage and support partnerships
- Seek grant opportunities and engage in grant writing
- Provide student learning opportunities
- Research nutrition curricula for Health instructors (not provided by state) to teach healthy eating habits
- Track state changes in high school physical activity requirements
- Review the Health Teens Survey each year (taken at middle and high schools)
- Continue e-mail/communications/outreach
- Act as clearing house of wellness for school web pages in order to reach out to parents, staff
- Prepare an HKLB power point presentation for district staff use
Implementation:
- Support individual school staffs and/or Site Councils working on Wellness plans and projects in district schools
- Develop a summary report every two years on district’s established nutrition and fitness policy guidelines
- Track “indicators of success,” i.e. increases in full meal choices by secondary students, impact of daily physical activity
- Provide a forum for appeals and concerned patrons and students to present concerns with nutritional and fitness policy changes as they are planned and implemented
- Discuss solutions to barriers regarding fundraising options
Development:
- Continue to pursue smaller portion sizes over time
- Review and suggest amendments to EFA-ARs in 2007
- Assist in future revisions to EFA-AR including addressing:
- The phase out of all soft drink beverages
- Food available at after school athletic events
- Length of time in individual school meal lines that deter students from selecting balanced full meal option
