I. Coordinated School Health
The school district will work within a Coordinated School Health Council to develop, implement, monitor, review, and, as necessary, revise school nutrition and physical activity policies. The collaborative will serve as a resource to school sites for implementing the wellness policies. (The collaborative consists of a group of individuals representing the school and community, and includes representatives from the eight areas of the Coordinated School Health System such parents, students, members of the school board, school administrators, teachers, health professionals, and members of the public.)
II. Goals for Nutrition Education and Physical Activity
Nutrition Education and Promotion. Alhambra Unified School District aims to teach, encourage, and support healthy eating by students. Schools should provide nutrition education and engage in nutrition promotion that is research based and:
• 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;
• may be part of not only health education classes, but also classroom instruction in subjects such as math, science, language arts, social sciences, and elective subjects;
• may include enjoyable, developmentally-appropriate, culturally-relevant, participatory activities, such as contests, promotions, taste testing, farm visits, and school gardens;
• promote fruits, vegetables, whole grain products, low-fat and fat-free dairy products, healthy food preparation methods, and health-enhancing nutrition practices;
• may emphasize caloric balance between food intake and energy expenditure (physical activity/exercise);
• may link with school meal programs, other school foods, and nutrition-related community services;
• may teach media literacy with an emphasis on food marketing; and
• may include training for teachers and other staff;
• may encourage staff to serve as positive role models for nutrition and physical activity and may provide opportunities for regular physical activity among employees.
Physical Activity Goals. Alhambra Unified School District aims to provide opportunities for students to develop the knowledge and skills for specific physical activities, to maintain students' physical fitness, to promote students' regular participation in physical activity, and to teach students short and long term benefits of a physically active and healthy lifestyle. Opportunities for physical activity may include:
• All students in grades K-10, including students with disabilities and special health-care needs, will receive daily physical education (or its equivalent of 200 minutes every 10 school days for elementary school students, middle and high school students) for the entire school year. Students are encouraged to spend at least 50 percent of physical education class time participating in moderate to vigorous physical activity.
• Integration of physical activity into the classroom setting. Opportunities may include: classroom health education which complements physical education by reinforcing the knowledge and self-management skills needed to maintain a physically-active lifestyle and to reduce time spent on sedentary activities; physical activity incorporated into other subject lessons; and classroom teachers are encouraged to provide short physical activity breaks between lessons or classes, as appropriate..
• Elementary school students should have at least 20 minutes a day of supervised recess, preferably outdoors, during which schools should encourage moderate to vigorous physical activity.
• As budget permits, elementary and high schools will offer and/or facilitate extracurricular physical activities, which may include collaboration with physical activity clubs or intramural programs. High schools as appropriate, will offer interscholastic sports programs. Schools will offer a range of activities that meet the needs, interests, and abilities of all students, including boys, girls, students with disabilities, and students with special health-care needs. After-school child care and enrichment programs should provide and encourage daily periods of moderate to vigorous physical activity for all participants.
• Teachers and other school and community personnel will not use physical activity (e.g., running laps, pushups) or withhold opportunities for physical activity (e.g., recess, physical education) as punishment.
• Schools will work with the community to create safe and easy routes for students to walk or bike to and from school.
• The district/school will encourage parents to provide healthy eating choices and daily physical activity for their children. The district/school may offer nutrition and physical activity education for parents, send home nutrition/physical activity information, post nutrition/physical activity tips on school websites, and provide nutrient analysis of school menus. Schools should encourage parents 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.
III. Nutritional Guidelines for Foods and Beverages Sold and Served on Campus
School Meals
Meals served through the National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs will:
• be appealing and attractive to children;
• be served in clean and pleasant settings;
• meet, at a minimum, nutrition requirements established by local, state, and federal statutes and regulations;
• offer a variety of fruits and vegetables;
• offer a minimum of one fresh fruit and/or vegetable item daily;
• offer low-fat (1%) and fat-free milk and nutritionally-equivalent non-dairy alternatives (to be defined by USDA); and
• ensure that whole grains are served as much as possible
District food authority should engage students and parents, through taste-tests of new items and surveys, in selecting foods sold and/or served through the school meal programs in order to identify new, healthful, and appealing food choices. In addition, district food authority should share information about the nutritional content of meals with parents and students. Such information may be made available on menus, a website, on cafeteria menu boards, placards, other point-of-purchase materials, or upon request.
Breakfast. To ensure that all children have breakfast, either at home or at school, in order to meet their nutritional needs and enhance their ability to learn:
• Schools will, to the extent possible, operate the School Breakfast Program.
• Schools will, to the extent possible, arrange bus schedules and utilize methods to serve school breakfasts that encourage participation.
• Schools that serve breakfast to students will notify parents and students of the availability of the School Breakfast Program.
• Schools will encourage parents to provide a healthy breakfast for their children through newsletter articles, take-home materials, district website, or other means.
Meal Times and Scheduling
Schools:
• should provide students with at least 10 minutes to eat after sitting down for breakfast and 20 minutes after sitting down for lunch;
• should schedule meal periods at appropriate times, e.g., lunch should be scheduled between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.
Adequacy of Dining Area Facilities. Schools should provide adequate seating and tables for dining purposes during meal services.
Qualifications of School Food Service Staff. Qualified professionals will administer the school meal programs. As part of the school district's responsibility to operate a food and nutrition service program, it will provide continuing professional development for all food and nutrition staff members. Staff development programs should include appropriate certification and/or training programs for food and nutrition services director, assistant director, managers, and cafeteria workers, according to their levels of responsibility.
Sharing of Foods and Beverages. Schools should discourage students from sharing their foods or beverages with one another during meal or snack times, given concerns about safety and sanitation as well as allergies and other restrictions on some children's diets.
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.)
K-8 Schools. Foods and beverages sold outside the school meal reimbursable program, should meet the district's nutrition standards. Whenever possible, schools should use the catering service from the district's Food and Nutrition Services office.
High Schools. In middle school and high schools, 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, or through programs for students after the school day, should meet the following nutrition standards.
Nutrition Standards
Beverages: For all grade levels, from 1/2 hour before the start of the school day to 1/2 hour after the end of the school day, only allowable beverages include:
• Fruit-based drinks with no less than 50% fruit juice and no added sweetener.
• Vegetable-based drinks with no less than 50% vegetable juice and no added sweetener.
• Drinking water with no added sweetener.
• 2%-fat milk, 1%-fat milk, nonfat milk, soy milk, rice milk, and similar nondairy milk.
• An electrolyte replacement beverage with no more than 42 grams of added sweetener per 20-oz serving.
For grades 9-12, beverages that do not comply may be sold as part of a school event if all criteria are met:
• The sale occurs during a school-sponsored event and takes place at the location of that event at least one-half hour after the end of the school day.
• Vending machines, student stores, and cafeterias are used later than one-half hour after the end of the school day.
Foods
A food item sold individually:
• will have no more than 35% of its calories from fat (excluding nuts, seeds, peanut butter, and other nut butters, eggs, cheese packaged for individual sale, fruits, vegetables that have not been deep fried);
• will have no more than 10% of its calories from saturated and trans fat combined (excluding eggs or cheese packaged for individual sale);
• will have no more than 35% of its weight from added sugars;
• will have no more than 250 calories per individual food item;
will have no more than 400 calories per individual entrˣ?item (except served as part school meals).
Food items that do not comply should only be sold and/or served in any of the following circumstances:
• off of and away from school premises;
• on school premises at least one-half hour after the end of the school day;
• during a school-sponsored pupil activity after the end of the school day.
Foods and beverages sold and/or served include those listed below:
Vending Machines. Vending machine contracts should be entered into on a competitive basis pursuant to standard procedures. A public hearing should be conducted to discuss contracts to include the following topics:
• nutrition value of foods and beverages sold within district;
• availability of fresh fruits, vegetables and whole grains in school meals and snacks;
• amount of sugar, fat and additives in the foods and beverages discussed;
• barriers to pupil participation in school breakfast and lunch programs.
Each contract must be accessible to the public. Contracts entered into prior to January 1, 2004 may remain in effect, but may not be renewed if they are in conflict with any of the above.
Fundraising Activities. To support children's health and school nutrition-education efforts, school fundraising activities that occur during the instructional school day should not involve food or will use only foods that meet the above nutrition standards for foods and beverages sold individually. Schools will encourage fundraising activities that promote physical activity. The school district will make available a list of ideas for acceptable fundraising activities.
Snacks/Special Occasions/Parties. Snacks served during the school day, in after-school care or enrichment programs will make a positive contribution to children's diets and health. The district will disseminate a list of healthy special occasion/party ideas to parents and teachers. Whenever possible, schools should use the catering service from the district's food and nutrition services office.
• If eligible, schools that provide snacks through after-school programs will pursue reimbursements through the National School Lunch Program.
Rewards. Schools will be encouraged not to use nonfood items as rewards for academic performance or good behavior, and will not withhold foods or beverages (including food served through school meals) as a punishment.
Food Marketing in Schools. School-based marketing will be consistent with nutrition education and health promotion. As such, schools should limit food and beverage marketing to the promotion of foods and beverages that meet the nutrition standards for meals or for foods and beverages sold individually. The promotion of healthy foods, including fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat dairy products is encouraged.
IV. Monitoring and Policy Review
Monitoring. The superintendent or designee will ensure compliance with established district-wide nutrition and physical activity wellness policies. The designees are charged with the operational responsibility for ensuring that the school sites implement the district's wellness policy in accordance with the law. In each school, the principal or designee will ensure compliance with those policies in his/her school and will report on the school's compliance to the school district superintendent or designees.
The superintendent or designee will develop a summary report every two years on district-wide compliance with the district's established nutrition and physical activity wellness policies. The summary report may include evaluation indicators such as student participation rates in school meal programs, analysis of nutritional content of meals served as part of the school meal programs, data collection of foods and beverages sold in fundraisers or other venues outside of the district's meal programs, and feedback from food service personnel, school administrators, the coordinated school health council, parents/guardians, students and other appropriate persons. Additional evaluation indicators may include: Average Daily Attendance, Annual Fitnessgram scores, Academic Performance Index, and California Healthy Kids Survey data. The evaluation data collected will be compared to baseline data from the 2005 school year. That report will be provided to the school board and also distributed to all school site councils, parent/teacher organizations, school principals, and coordinated school health members in the district.
Policy Review. The district, and individual schools within the district, will, as necessary, revise the wellness policies and develop work plans to facilitate their implementation.
V. Posting Requirements
Each school shall post the district's policies and regulations on nutrition and physical activity in public view within all school cafeterias or in other general eating areas.
Regulation ALHAMBRA UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
approved: June 27, 2006 Alhambra, California