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Student Wellness Policy

Firebaugh-Las Deltas Unified School District
Wellness Policy
The Firebaugh-Las Deltas Unified School District’s governing board recognizes the link between nutrition education, foods served in schools, physical activity, and environmental education, and that wellness is affected by all of these. The Board also recognizes the important connection between a healthy diet and a student’s ability to learn effectively and achieve high standards in school.
The Board recognizes that it is District’s role, as part of the larger community, to model and actively practice, through policies and procedures: the promotion of family health, physical activity, good nutrition, sustainable agriculture, and environmental restoration.
The Board further recognizes that the sharing and enjoyment of food, and participation in physical activities, are fundamental experiences for all people and are primary ways to nurture and celebrate our cultural diversity. These fundamental human experiences are vital bridges for building friendships, forming inter-generational bonds, and strengthening communities.
The Firebaugh-Las Deltas Unified School District (FLDUSD) is committed to providing school environments that promote and protect children's health, well-being, and the ability to learn by supporting healthy eating and physical activity. Therefore, it is the policy of the Firebaugh-Las Deltas Unified School District that:  
  • FLDUSD will engage students, parents, teachers, food service professionals, health professionals, and other interested community members in developing, implementing, monitoring, and reviewing districtwide nutrition and physical activity policies (School Health Council).
  • All students in grades K-12 will have opportunities, support, and encouragement to be physically active on a regular basis.
  • Foods and beverages sold or served at schools will meet the nutrition recommendations of the U.S.D.A. Dietary Guidelines for Americans and California Bills SB12 and SB 965 including and not limited to:
    • Vending machines
    • A la carte
    • Beverage contracts
    • Fundraisers
    • Concession stands
    • Student stores
    • School parties/celebrations
  • FLDUSD teachers, staff and School Health Council will provide students access to a variety of affordable, nutritious, and appealing foods that meet the health and nutrition needs of students; will accommodate the religious, ethnic, and cultural diversity of the student body in meal planning; and will provide clean, safe, and pleasant settings and adequate time for students to eat.
  • All FLDUSD schools in our district will participate in available federal school meal programs (including the School Breakfast Program, National School Lunch Program [including after-school snacks], and Summer Food Service Program.
  • All FLDUSD schools in our district will provide nutrition education and physical education to foster lifelong habits of healthy eating and physical activity, and will establish linkages between health education, school meal programs, and related community services. 
Policy Components 
1. Nutrition Education and Promotion
2. Physical Education
3. Nutrition Standards for All Foods Available on School Campuses During the School Day
4. School-Based Activities Designed to Promote Student Wellness
5. Monitoring and Policy Review 
 
Nutrition Education and Promotion
Firebaugh-Las Deltas Unified School District aims to teach, encourage, and support healthy eating by students. Our schools will provide nutrition education and engage in nutrition promotion that:
  • is offered at each school site 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; and
  • includes nutrition training for teachers and other staff. 
Physical Education
Daily Physical Education (P.E.): All students in grades K-12, including students with disabilities, special health-care needs, and in alternative educational settings, will receive daily physical education (or its equivalent of 100 minutes/week for elementary school students and 200 minutes/week for middle and high school students) for the entire school year. All physical education at Firebaugh Middle School and Firebaugh High School will be taught by a certified physical education teacher.
Adapted Physical Education (A.P.E.): Adapted physical education is offered at FLDUSD for Special Needs Students. A.P.E. is a physical education program for children with disabilities who have needs which cannot be solely met in general or specially designed physical education. It is taught by a credentialed A.P.E. specialist either independently or in a team teaching situation with a general or special educator. Frequency and duration of services, and goals and objectives/benchmarks, which are monitored by the A.P.E. specialist, are identified on the IEP.
Daily Recess: All elementary school students will have at least 20 minutes a day of supervised recess, preferably outdoors, during which schools should encourage moderate to vigorous physical activity verbally and through the provision of space and equipment.
Physical Activity Before and After School: H.M. Bailey School, A.E. Mills School, Firebaugh Middle School, and Firebaugh High School may offer extracurricular physical activity programs, such as physical activity clubs or intramural programs. Firebaugh Middle School and Firebaugh High School, as appropriate, will offer interscholastic sports programs. All 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 programs and enrichment programs will provide and encourage – verbally and through the provision of space, equipment, and activities – daily periods of moderate to vigorous physical activity for all participants.
 
Nutrition Standards for All Foods Available on All School Campuses during the School Day
School Meals 
Meals served at all FLDUSD campuses 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;
  • serve only low-fat (1%) and fat-free milk and nutritionally-equivalent nondairy alternatives (defined by USDA); and
  • ensure that 100% of the served grains are whole grain. 
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:
  • All FLDUSD Schools will, to the extent possible, operate the School Breakfast Program.
  • All FLDUSD Schools will, to the extent possible, arrange bus schedules and utilize methods to serve school breakfasts that encourage participation, which can include any of the following options: serving breakfast in the classroom, "grab-and-go" breakfast, or breakfast during morning break or recess.
  • All FLDUSD Schools that serve breakfast to students will notify parents and students of the availability of the School Breakfast Program.
  • All FLDUSD Schools will encourage parents to provide a healthy breakfast for their children through newsletter articles, take-home materials, or other means.
 All FLDUSD Schools will 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 may utilize electronic identification and payment systems; provide meals at no charge to all children, regardless of income; promote the availability of school meals to all students; and/or use nontraditional methods for serving school meals, such as "grab-and-go" or classroom breakfast.
 
Seamless Summer Food Service Program: 
All FLDUSD Schools in which more than 50% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price school meals will sponsor the Seamless Summer Food Service Program for breakfast and lunch for at least six weeks between the last day of the academic school year and the first day of the following school year, and preferably throughout the entire summer vacation. 
 
Meal Times and Scheduling 
All FLDUSD Schools:  
  • will 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.;  
  • should not schedule tutoring, club, or organizational meetings or activities during mealtimes, unless students may eat during such activities;  
  • will provide students access to hand washing or hand sanitizing before they eat meals or snacks; and  
  • should take reasonable steps to accommodate the tooth-brushing regimens of students with special oral health needs (e.g., orthodontia or high tooth decay risk). 
School Food Service Staff: 
Qualified nutrition professionals will administer the school meal programs. As part of the school district's responsibility to operate a food service program, we will provide continuing professional development for all nutrition professionals in schools. Staff development programs should include appropriate certification and/or training programs for child nutrition directors, school nutrition 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 allergies and other restrictions on some children's diets. 
Foods and Beverages Sold Individually (vending machines, cafeteria al la carte (snack) lines, beverage contracts, fundraisers, concession stands and school/student stores:
The school food service program will approve and provide all food and beverage sales to students in Bailey and Mills School. Given young children's limited nutrition skills, food in elementary schools should be sold as balanced meals. If available, foods and beverages sold individually should be limited to low-fat and non-fat milk, fruits, and nonfried vegetables.
All foods and beverages sold individually outside the reimbursable school meal programs at Firebaugh Middle School, Firebaugh and El Puente High Schools (including those sold through a la carte [snack] lines, vending machines, beverage contracts, concessions stands, student stores, or fundraising activities) during the school day, or through programs for students after the school day, will meet the following nutrition and portion size standards: 
 
Beverages
  • Allowed: water or seltzer water without added caloric sweeteners; fruit and vegetable juices and fruit-based drinks that contain at least 50% fruit juice and that do not contain additional caloric sweeteners; unflavored or flavored low-fat or fat-free milk and nutritionally-equivalent nondairy beverages;
  • Not allowed: soft drinks containing caloric sweeteners; iced teas; fruit-based drinks that contain less than 50% real fruit juice or that contain additional caloric sweeteners; or beverages containing caffeine.
Foods
An individually sold snack must meet current USDA & Cal Fresh standards for schools (See Resources). The term individually sold is defined by the USDA as the exchange of food for money, coupons, vouchers or order forms, when any part of the exchange occurs on a school campus during the school day.  
A choice of at least two fruits and/or non-fried vegetables will be offered for sale at any location on the school site where foods are sold during the school day. A school day is defined by the USDA from midnight to one-half hour after school. 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). 
 
Portion Sizes  
Limit portion sizes of foods and beverages sold individually to those listed below:
  • One and one-quarter ounces for chips, crackers, popcorn, cereal, trail mix, nuts, seeds, dried fruit, or jerky;
  • One ounce for cookies;
  • Two ounces for cereal bars, granola bars, pastries, muffins, doughnuts, bagels, and other bakery items; 
  • Four fluid ounces for frozen desserts, including, but not limited to, low-fat or fat-free ice cream;  
  • Eight ounces for non-frozen yogurt;  Twelve fluid ounces for beverages, excluding water; and 
  • The portion size of a la carte entrees and side dishes, including potatoes, will not be greater than the size of comparable portions offered as part of school meals. Fruits and non-fried vegetables are exempt from portion-size limits. 
Snacks: 
Snacks served during the school day or in after-school care or enrichment programs will 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 will assess if and when to offer snacks based on timing of school meals, children's nutritional needs, children's ages, and other considerations. 
 
School-Based Activities Designed to Promote Student Wellness
Wellness & Nutrition Program through Fresno County Office of Education (FCOE) provides to participating schools:  
  • Classroom Awareness Through Animation Program  
  • Nutrition education training and program  
  • Materials on nutrition/physical activity  
  • SPARK Workshops (Sports, Play & Active Recreation for Kids!)  
  • POWERMID Workshops  
  • Student Nutrition Advisory Councils (SNAC) opportunities for student leadership development at Mid-Year Youth Conference and FCOE Leadership Academy
  • “Power Parties” as an alternative reward parties and nutrition education/physical activity promotions  
  • Technical support to train students, teachers, food service staff, coaches, nurses, counselors and administrators in classroom integration of nutrition education and physical activity promotion 
Positive Action: 
This district/school provides integrated classroom lessons with classroom activities and parental involvement to build a positive environment throughout the school. This program encourages students to do their best and be their best in all aspects of their life, including health and nutrition. 
Communication with Parents: The district/school will support parents' efforts to provide a healthy diet and daily physical activity for their children. Some examples of nutritional information that the district can provide are: nutrition information via quarterly newsletters, post nutrition tips on school websites, and provide nutrient analyses 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 above nutrition standards for individual foods and beverages. The district/school has the option of providing parents a list of foods that meet the district's snack standards and ideas for healthy celebrations/parties, rewards, and fundraising activities. In addition, the district/school will provide opportunities for parents to share their healthy food practices with others in the school community. The district/school will provide information about physical education and other school-based physical activity opportunities before, during, and after the school day; and support parents' efforts to provide their children with opportunities to be physically active outside of school. Such supports will include sharing information about physical activity and physical education through a website, newsletter, or other take-home materials, special events, or physical education homework. Fundraising Activities: Fundraising with healthy foods and non-food items demonstrates the district’s commitment to promoting healthy behaviors. To support children's health and school nutrition-education efforts, school fundraising activities will not involve food or will use only foods that meet the above nutrition and portion size standards for foods and beverages sold individually. All FLDUSD Schools will encourage fundraising activities that promote physical activity. The school district will make available a list of ideas for acceptable fundraising activities. Rewards: All FLDUSD Schools will not use foods or beverages, especially those that do not meet the nutrition standards for foods and beverages sold individually (above), as rewards for academic performance or good behavior, and will not withhold food or beverages (including food served through school meals) as a punishment. Note: A reward of food or beverage may be used for academic performance or good behavior if required by or indicated by an IEP or Accommodation Plan for Special Needs Students through Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) or Section 504. Celebrations: All FLDUSD Schools should limit celebrations that involve food during the school day to no more than one party per class per month. Each party should include no more than one food or beverage that does not meet nutrition standards for foods and beverages sold individually (above). 9 Updated August 2014 School Sponsored Events: Foods and beverages offered or sold at schoolsponsored events outside the school day will meet the nutrition standards for meals or for foods and beverages sold individually. Safe Routes to School: FLDUSD will assess and, if necessary and to the extent possible, make needed improvements to make it safer and easier for students to walk and bike to school. When appropriate, the district will work together with local public works, public safety, and/or police departments in those efforts. The district will explore the availability of federal "safe routes to school" funds, administered by the state department of transportation, to finance such improvements. The school district will encourage students to use public transportation when available and appropriate for travel to school, and will work with the local transit agency to provide transit passes for students. Use of School Facilities Outside of School Hours: School facilities should be available to community agencies and organizations offering physical activity and nutrition programs. School policies concerning safety will apply at all times. Use of facilities will first be requested through the MOT (Maintenance, operations and transportation) department and then approved by site principal before use. Food Marketing In Schools: School-based marketing will be consistent with nutrition education and health promotion. As such, schools will 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 (above). School-based marketing of brands promoting predominantly lownutrition foods and beverages is prohibited. The promotion of healthy foods, including fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat dairy products is encouraged. Examples of marketing techniques include the following: logos and brand names on/in vending machines, books or curricula, textbook covers, school supplies, scoreboards, school structures, and sports equipment; educational incentive programs that provide food as a reward; programs that provide schools with supplies when families buy low-nutrition food products; inschool television, Public Service Announcements on Channel One in schools where used; free samples or coupons; and food sales through fundraising activities. Marketing activities that promote healthful behaviors (and are therefore allowable) include: vending machine covers promoting water; pricing structures that promote healthy options in a la carte lines or vending machines; sales of fruit for fundraisers; and coupons for discount gym memberships. 10 Updated August 2014 Monitoring and Policy Review Monitoring: The superintendent, School Health Council, or designee will ensure compliance with established district-wide nutrition and physical activity wellness policies. 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 designee. School food service staff, at the school or district level, will ensure compliance with nutrition policies within school food service areas and will report on this matter to the superintendent, School Health Council or designee. In addition, the school district will 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 will request from the state agency that a SMI review be scheduled as soon as possible. The superintendent, School Health Council, or designee will 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 will 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: To help with the initial development of the district's wellness policies, the School Health Council will conduct a baseline assessment of the school's existing nutrition and physical activity environments and policies. The results of those school-by-school assessments will be compiled at the district level to identify and prioritize needs. Assessments will be repeated every three years to help review policy compliance, assess progress, and determine areas in need of improvement. As part of that review, the school district will review our nutrition and physical activity policies; provision of an environment that supports healthy eating and physical activity; and nutrition and physical education policies and program elements. The district, and individual schools within the district, will, as necessary, revise the wellness policies and develop work plans to facilitate their implementation.