Wellness Program

The Springfield R-12 School District Board of Education recognizes the relationship between student well-being and improving student achievement.  The District will provide developmentally appropriate and sequential nutrition, physical education, physical activities, and other areas of the curriculum to assure student wellness. The wellness program will be implemented in a multidisciplinary fashion.  The primary goals of the wellness program are to promote student health, reduce student overweight/obesity, facilitate student learning of lifelong healthy habits and increase student achievement. The principles of continuous quality improvement will serve as the basis for the deployment of this policy.

Wellness Committee

The District will establish a wellness committee to oversee the deployment of the Wellness policy.  This membership will consist of at least one (1): parent, student, health services representative, school food service representative, school administrator, member of the public, employee benefits representative, and other community members as appropriate. The Superintendent designates the Coordinator of Health Services and the Director of School Food Services as Wellness Program Coordinators. Wellness Program Coordinators, in consultation with the wellness committee, will be in charge of implementation and evaluation of this policy.

Nutrition Guidelines

It is the policy of the School District of Springfield R-12 that staff will assure all foods and beverages made available on campus by the District during the school day are consistent with the Missouri Eat Smart Nutrition Guidelines and the Nutrition Standards that have been developed by the local Wellness Policy committee.

Guidelines for reimbursable school meals will not be less restrictive than regulations and guidance issued by the Secretary of Agriculture pursuant to law. The district will create procedures that apply to the school day and before-and after-school programs in the following areas:

Nutrition and Physical Education Curriculum

The District will provide nutrition and physical education standards aligned with the Show-Me Standards and Missouri's Frameworks for Curriculum Development in Health/Physical Education in all grades. The Wellness Program Coordinators, in consultation with the principals, health/physical education curriculum department, and the wellness committee, will develop goals that address nutrition and physical education.

Other School-Based Activities

The Wellness Program Coordinators, in consultation with the wellness committee, are charged with developing goals addressing other school-based activities to promote wellness.

Evaluation

Quality assurance checks will be used to monitor the deployment of the district Wellness policy.  Wellness Program Coordinators shall be responsible for devising a plan for implementation and evaluation of the District’s Wellness policy and are charged with operational responsibility for ensuring that schools meet the goals of the District’s Wellness policy. Wellness Program Coordinators will report to the Board annually.

Adopted:           July 25, 2006

Cross Refs:       EF, Food Services Management
EFB, Free and Reduced-Cost Food Services

Legal Refs:       §§ 610.010 - .028, RSMo.
The Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004, Section 204, P.L. 108
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The Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 1751 - 1769h

The Child Nutrition Act of 1966, 42 U.S.C. §§ 1771 – 1789

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