Wellness Program Procedural Guidelines

The primary goals of the School District of Springfield R-12's wellness program are to promote student health, reduce student overweight/obesity, facilitate student learning of lifelong healthy habits and increase student achievement. The following procedures will guide the implementation of the district wellness program.

Nutrition Guidelines

The district designates the following nutrition guidelines, based on the Missouri Eat Smart
Nutrition Guidelines and the Nutrition Standards that have been developed by the SPS Wellness Policy committee, for foods and beverages served in schools during the school day:

School Breakfasts will meet the Missouri Eat Smart Guidelines, Grades Pre-K-12.

School Lunches will meet the Missouri Eat Smart Guidelines, Grades Pre-K-12.

A La Carte Food Items will meet at least two of the following standards:

  1. provide 3 grams or more fiber
  2. provide 35% or less calories from fat or less than 10% calories from saturated fat
  3. provide less than 16 grams sugar per serving
  4. make a “significant nutrition contribution” as defined by: providing 20% daily value of one or more of calcium, vitamin A, vitamin C or iron OR 5 grams or more of protein.

A La Carte Beverage Items will include only the following:  milk, including available flavors, 100% juice, electrolyte replacement drinks and water including available flavors.

Food Items Sold in Vending Machines and School Stores during the school day (30 minutes before school begins and 15 minutes after school lets out) will meet at least two of the following standards:

  1. provide 3 grams or more fiber
  2. provide 35% or less calories from fat or less than 10% calories from saturated fat
  3. provide less than 16 grams sugar per serving
  4. make a “significant nutrition contribution” as defined by: providing 20% daily value of one or more of calcium, vitamin A, vitamin C or iron OR 5 grams or more of protein.

Beverage Items Sold in Vending Machines and School Stores during the school day (30 minutes before school begins and 15 minutes after school lets out) will include only the following:  milk, including available flavors, 100% juice, electrolyte replacement drinks and water including available flavors.

After-School Programs are recommended to meet at least 2 of the following standards:

  1. provide 3 grams or more fiber
  2. provide 35% or less calories from fat or less than 10% calories from saturated fat
  3. provide less than 16 grams sugar per serving
  4. make a “significant nutrition contribution” as defined by: providing 20% daily value of one or more of calcium, vitamin A, vitamin C or iron OR 5 grams or more of protein.

Rewards should not include candy or soda.  Nonfood incentives and/or at least 50% healthy food options are encouraged. Healthy food options should meet at least two of the following standards:

  1. provide 3 grams or more fiber
  2. provide 35% or less calories from fat or less than 10% calories from saturated fat
  3. provide less than 16 grams sugar per serving
  4. make a “significant nutrition contribution” as defined by: providing 20% daily value of one or more of calcium, vitamin A, vitamin C or iron OR 5 grams or more of protein.

Celebrations and Parties, in keeping with the overall nutritional guidelines, parents and teachers are encouraged to limit soda and candy to no more than 50% of the foods offered at special holiday and Valentine’s parties. The remaining 50% of party foods offered should meet at least two of the following standards:

  1. provide 3 grams or more fiber
  2. provide 35% or less calories from fat or less than 10% calories from saturated fat
  3. provide less than 16 grams sugar per serving
  4. make a “significant nutrition contribution” as defined by: providing 20% daily value of one or more of calcium, vitamin A, vitamin C or iron OR 5 grams or more of protein.

Fundraisers, are defined as school sponsored or related groups, school stores or organizations having food sales during the school day. School day is defined as 30 minutes before school begins and 15 minutes after school lets out. Items must meet nutrition standards if sold during the school day. After school sales are encouraged to add healthy choices so that at least 50% of food items meet at least two of the following standards:

  1. provide 3 grams or more fiber
  2. provide 35% or less calories from fat or less than 10% calories from saturated fat
  3. provide less than 16 grams sugar per serving
  4. make a “significant nutrition contribution” as defined by: providing 20% daily value of one or more of calcium, vitamin A, vitamin C or iron OR 5 grams or more of protein.

Intramural Activities/Concession Stands will provide at least 50% of food items served to meet at least two of the following standards:

  1. provide 3 grams or more fiber
  2. provide 35% or less calories from fat or less than 10% calories from saturated fat
  3. provide less than 16 grams sugar per serving
  4. make a “significant nutrition contribution” as defined by: providing 20% daily value of one or more of calcium, vitamin A, vitamin C or iron OR 5 grams or more of protein.

Nutrition Education

The district's nutrition education goal is to integrate sequential nutrition education with the comprehensive health education program and, to the extent possible, the core curriculum taught at every grade level in order to provide students with the necessary knowledge and skills to make healthy nutrition decisions. In order to achieve the nutrition education goal, the district will:

  1. Provide students at all grade levels with adequate nutritional knowledge including, but not limited to:
    • The benefits of healthy eating.
    • Essential nutrients.
    • Nutritional deficiencies.
    • Principles of healthy weight management.
    • The use and misuse of dietary supplements.
    • Safe food preparation, handling and storage.

  2. Provide students with nutrition-related skills that minimally include the ability to:
    • Plan healthy meals.
    • Understand and use food labels.
    • Apply the principles of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) and MyPyramid.
    • Critically evaluate nutrition information, misinformation and commercial food advertising.
    • Assess personal eating habits, nutrition goal-setting and achievement.
    • Gain an understanding of serving size using appropriate educational tools, such as through the comparison with everyday objects (deck of cards = 1 serving of meat; baseball = 1 cup)

  3. Provide instructional activities that stress the appealing aspects of healthy eating and are hands-on, behavior based, culturally relevant, developmentally appropriate and enjoyable. Examples of activities include, but are not limited to: food preparation, contests, promotions, taste testing, farm visits and school gardens.

  4. Encourage district staff to cooperate with local agencies and community groups to provide students with opportunities for volunteer work related to nutrition, such as in food banks, soup kitchens or after-school programs.

  5. Ensure that School counselors and health services staff will promote healthy eating to students and staff. Professional development activities and resources will be provided to counselors and health services staff to assist in recognizing conditions such as unhealthy weight, eating disorders and other nutrition-related health problems; as well as providing links to appropriate healthcare.

  6. Coordinate the food service program with nutrition instruction. Food service staff should also work closely with those responsible for other components of the school health program to achieve common goals. These activities may include but are not limited to:
    • A.P.P.L.E.S. - Activity Plans Providing Learning Experiences for Students. Registered dietitians and education professionals teamed up to create lessons and activities to increase nutrition awareness among students.
    • Treat Yourself Right - a nutrition awareness program for middle and high school students to promote healthy lifestyles.
    • SPIKE-ARAMARK mascot program for elementary students featuring Spike who communicates the importance of good nutrition and exercise.
    • Nutrition Education materials, games, etc. presented on the back of the monthly elementary menus sent to the home of each elementary student.
    • A nutrition education page to be included on the food service web page of the District’s web site. This page will have a direct link to the food service department’s dietitian for interactive exchange with parents and interested patrons of the district.
    • Cooking Demonstrations & Adult Education—the food service department’s dietitian will be available for cooking demonstrations for PTA meetings or other staff meetings to discuss healthy eating and meal planning for families.
    • Develop a nutrition awareness page for display on Channel 25.

  7. Encourage district staff to cooperate with local agencies and community organizations to provide students opportunities for nutrition education after approval by district CDC.

Physical Activity

The district's physical activity goal is to assist students in learning to value and enjoy physical activity as an ongoing part of a healthy lifestyle by ensuring that every student has the opportunity to develop the knowledge and skills necessary to perform a variety of physical activities, maintain physical fitness and regularly participate in physical activity. In order to achieve the physical activity goal, the district will implement a physical education program including timeline in order to meet minimum, intermediate and advanced levels of the physical education standards. (See attached Physical Education grid)

The district will:

  1. Develop a sequential program of appropriate physical education for every student. The program will:
    • Add FTE to provide for a Physical Education Coordinator position.  [Minimum]
    • Provide for at least 60 minutes (pilot one school in each zone for 90 minutes per week) of physical education for students in the elementary grades during the school week; at least 3,000 minutes during the school year for students in middle school; and at least 1.5 units for students in high school and .5 units for health education. [Minimum]
    • Limit size for middle/high school physical education classes to 33 students per teacher.  (This is the standard for a classroom teacher/student ratio.) [Intermediate]
    • Have no more than two physical education classes in the gymnasium at the same time for instruction at the middle/high school levels. At the elementary level, there will be only one physical education class per instructor at one time.
    • Emphasize knowledge and skills for a lifetime of regular physical activity.
    • Devote at least 75 percent of physical education class time to actual physical activity in each week, with as much time as possible spent in moderate to vigorous physical activity. [Minimum]
    • Avoid scheduling middle school students for two consecutive semesters without physical education. [Priority]
    • Meet the needs of all students, especially those who are not athletically gifted or who have special needs.
    • Provide a variety of activity choices, feature cooperative as well as competitive activities, and consider for gender and cultural differences in students' interests.
    • Protected P.E. time and recess (all levels) with no waivers except medical waivers. [Minimum]
    • Prohibit exemptions from physical education courses on the basis of participation in an athletic team, community recreation program, ROTC, marching band or other school or community activity. On rare occasions a waiver may be issued as approved by the Board of Education as referenced in Board Policy IKF and outlined in the Individual Program of Study.
    • Be closely coordinated with the other components of the overall school health program. All schools will be in compliance with health curriculum requirements (curriculum taught by elementary classroom teachers or certified health teachers at middle and high school levels).

  2. Provide time in elementary schools for supervised recess. All elementary students are to receive 30 minutes of physical activity daily in addition to physical education class. Students should begin recess with a walk/jog. [Minimum]

  3. Encourage opportunities for students to voluntarily participate in before- and after-school physical activity programs, such as intramural activities, interscholastic athletics and clubs by:
    • Providing a diverse selection of competitive and noncompetitive, as well as structured and unstructured, activities to the extent that staffing and district/community facilities permit.
    • Offering intramural physical activity programs that feature a broad range of competitive and cooperative activities for all students. (Middle school)
    • Encouraging partnerships between schools and businesses. Promotion of such partnerships must be appropriate and in accordance with Board policy and applicable procedures.

  4. Strive to provide joint school and community recreational activities that result in:
    • Actively engaging families as partners in their children's education and collaborating with community agencies and organizations to provide ample opportunities for students to participate in physical activity beyond the school day.
      • Encouraging schools to work with recreation agencies and other community organizations to coordinate and enhance opportunities available to students for physical activity during their out-of-school time.
    • Encouraging schools to negotiate mutually acceptable, fiscally responsible arrangements with community agencies and organizations to keep district-owned facilities open for use by students, staff and community members during non-school hours and vacations.
    • Encouraging district officials to work together with local public works, public safety, police departments and/or other appropriate state and federal authorities in efforts to make it safer and easier for students to walk and bike to school.

  5. Discourage periods of inactivity that exceed two (2) or more hours. When activities such as mandatory school-wide testing make it necessary for students to remain indoors for long periods of time, staff should give students periodic breaks during which they are encouraged to stand and be moderately active. (At least a 5 minute activity break)

  6. Provide and encourage--verbally and through the provision of space and activities--daily periods of moderate to vigorous physical activity for all participants in onsite after-school child care and enrichment programs sponsored by the district.

  7. Enhance opportunities for staff to be physically active by:
    • Planning, establishing and implementing activities to promote physical activity among staff and providing opportunities for staff to conveniently engage in regular physical activity.
    • Working with recreation agencies and other community organizations to coordinate and enhance opportunities available to staff for physical activity during their out-of-school time.

Other School-Based Activities

The district's goal for other school-based activities is to ensure an integrated whole-school approach to the district's wellness program. The district will achieve this goal by addressing the areas itemized below.

Community Involvement

School instructional staff will collaborate with agencies and groups conducting nutrition education in the community to send consistent messages to students and their families. Guest speakers invited to address students will receive appropriate orientation to the relevant policies of the district.

The wellness program shall make effective use of district and community resources and equitably serve the needs and interests of all students and staff, taking into consideration differences of gender, cultural norms, physical and cognitive abilities and fitness level.

Family Involvement

The district will strive to engage families as partners in their children's education by supporting parental efforts to motivate and help their children with maintaining and improving their health, preventing disease and avoiding health-related risk behaviors. Strategies the district may implement to achieve family involvement may include, but are not limited to:

  1. Providing nutrition information and seminars to parents/guardians in the forms of newsletters, handouts, presentations or other appropriate means.
  2. Providing parents/guardians a list of appropriate foods that meet the district's nutrition standards for snacks along with ideas for healthy celebrations, parties, rewards and fundraising activities.
  3. Encouraging parents/guardians to pack healthy lunches and snacks and to refrain from including beverages and foods that do not meet the district’s nutrition standards for individual foods and beverages.
  4. Providing opportunities for parents/guardians to share their healthy food practices with others in the school community.
  5. Supporting efforts of parents/guardians to provide their children with opportunities to be physically active outside of school.
  6. Providing information about physical education and other school-based physical activity opportunities available to students before, during and after the school day via the district's website, newsletter, other take-home materials, special events or physical education homework.
  7. Encouraging parents/guardians to volunteer time in the classroom, cafeteria or at special events that promote student health.
  8. Designing curricular nutrition education activities and promotions to involve parents/guardians and the community.
  9. Posting nutrition tips on district websites.
  10. Providing nutrient analyses of district menus.
  11. Disseminating information about community programs that offer nutrition assistance to families.

If practical, the district will provide information in the native language of the parent/guardian as well as in a form that is understandable to parents/guardians.

Marketing and Advertising

Marketing in district facilities will be consistent with the goals of the district's wellness program and comply with Board policy. The district will strive to promote the wellness program and educate parents regarding the quality of district foods.

Tobacco and/or alcohol advertising are not permitted on district property, at district-sponsored events or in district sponsored publications. Food and beverage marketing will be limited to the promotion of foods and beverages that meet the nutrition standards adopted by the Board. Examples of marketing and advertising the district will carefully examine include, but are not limited to:  pricing strategies that promote healthy food choices, audiovisual programming, educational incentive programs, scoreboards, book covers and vending machine displays.

Meal Times

Students are not permitted to leave school campus during the school day to purchase food or beverages. Meal times will comply with the following guidelines:

Outdoor Air Quality

During the ozone season [defined as:  usually in late summer when levels of ozone in the troposphere can reach dangerous levels.  The increase in ozone during this time has more to do with seasonal wind currents delivering the chemical reaction ingredients and sunshine (the catalyst for the chemical reactions), rather than a region’s actual production of pollutants (e.g. a rural area can have soaring levels of ozone due to a distant urban area spewing pollutants that the wind takes to the countryside)] the district Health Services Department will work with the Springfield Greene County Health Department to establish a means of evaluating and monitoring the Air Quality Index (AQI) and will make recommendations to district administration for interventions.

Indoor Air Quality

The district Safety Committee, Health Services and General Services Center Administration will establish guidelines for establishment of indoor air quality guidelines that include procedures for reporting building concerns, testing, and/or making recommendations for improvements/corrections of indoor air quality issues.

Staff Development and Training

All staff will be provided with ongoing training and professional development related to all areas of student wellness. The pre-service and ongoing in-service training will include teaching strategies for behavior change and will focus on giving teachers the skills they need to use non-lecture, active learning methods. Staff responsible for nutrition education will be adequately prepared and regularly participate in professional development activities to effectively deliver the nutrition education program as planned. Staff responsible for implementing the physical education program will be properly certified and will regularly participate in area-specific professional development activities.
Qualified nutrition professionals will administer the district meal programs and will receive ongoing, area-specific professional development. The district will provide continuing professional development for all district nutrition professionals. Staff development programs will include appropriate certification and/or training programs for Coordinator of Food Services, school nutrition managers and cafeteria workers, according to their levels of responsibility.

Staff Wellness

The School District of Springfield R-12 highly values the health and well-being of every staff member. The district will offer staff wellness programs that include education on nutrition, healthy eating behaviors and maintaining a healthy weight for optimal health. The district will establish and maintain a staff wellness committee. A representative of the staff wellness committee will serve as a member of the district wellness committee. The staff wellness committee will develop, promote and oversee a multifaceted plan to promote staff health and wellness. The plan will be based on input solicited from district staff and will outline ways to encourage healthy eating, physical activity, sun safety and other elements of a healthy lifestyle. The staff wellness committee will distribute its plan to the wellness program committee annually.

Sun Safety

"Sun safety" describes a range of behaviors that include wearing appropriate clothing, applying sunscreen and limiting sun exposure. The sun safety program will focus on outdoor behavior and will be developmentally appropriate, active, engaging and taught in lessons that emphasize the positive benefits of sun safety. Sun safety education will be designed to assist students with:

  1. Knowledge about the harmful effects of the sun and ways to protect skin.
  2. Sun-safe skills, including the correct use of protective clothing, hats, sunglasses, sunscreen and lip balm as well as seeking shade and limiting sun exposure when possible and practical during the hours of peak sun intensity.
  3. Knowledge about how to assess personal sun safety habits, set goals for improvement and achieve these goals.

Tobacco, Alcohol and Other Drugs (T.A.O.D) Abuse

T.A.O.D use prevention education will focus on all grades with particular emphasis on middle school and reinforcement in all later grades. Instructional activities will be participatory and developmentally appropriate. T.A.O.D use prevention education programs will be implemented in accordance with Board policy, relevant administrative procedures and law.

Oversight and Evaluation

The wellness program coordinators are responsible for monitoring implementation of the district wellness program by:

  1. Assuming responsibility for the assessment of existing policies and procedures.
  2. Prioritizing wellness goals and writing work plans for each goal.
  3. Measuring implementation of the district wellness policy and procedure.
  4. Ensuring that the district meets the goals of the wellness policy and procedure.
  5. Reporting to the Board on compliance and progress annually.

Monitoring

The food service coordinator/authorized representative will monitor (once per semester) the food service areas including vending machines, for compliance with the district's nutrition guidelines and will report on this matter to the wellness program coordinators.

The program coordinators will develop an annual summary report based on input from schools within the district regarding district-wide compliance with the district's wellness policies. The report will include a baseline of assessed indicators, impact of the policy change on those indicators, a report of progress, steps for moving to the next priority, work plans for the next year, and recommended policy revisions. The report will be provided to the Board of Education and made available on the district's website or by other appropriate means.

Performance Indicators

During initial development of the district’s wellness-related policies and procedures, each school in the district will conduct a baseline assessment of the schools existing nutrition and physical activity programs and practices. The wellness committee will compile these results. In addition to the baseline information provided from each school, the committee will use indicators to measure the impact of the district wellness program. The performance indicators include but are not limited to the following:

  1. School Health Index
  2. Physical fitness reports
  3. Weight status or body mass index (BMI)
  4. Number of healthy food items available in vending machines
  5. Number of discipline problems
  6. Achievement levels of students
  7. Student Absenteeism
  8. Number of staff who participated in training and development related to student wellness

Policy Review

The wellness program coordinators will provide policy revision recommendations to the Board of Education based on the analysis of the compliance indicators as part of the annual report. The Board will revise the wellness policy as it deems necessary. Administrative procedures will be revised accordingly.

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