https://www.dewittdragons.net/o/des/dining 

Goals

In its efforts to improve the school nutrition environment, promote student health, and reduce childhood obesity, the District will adhere to the Arkansas Rules governing Nutrition and Physical Activity and Body Mass Index for Age Assessment Protocols.  To promote nutrition, physical activity, and other school based activities that will improve student wellness, the District has established the following goals.

1. Appoint a district school health coordinator (designated district official) who shall be responsible for ensuring that each school fulfills the requirements of this policy.

2. Implement a grade appropriate nutrition education program that will develop an awareness of an appreciation for nutrition and physical activity throughout the curriculum;

3. Enforce existing physical education requirements and engage students in healthy levels of vigorous physical activity;

4. Strive to improve the quality of physical education curricula and increase the training of physical education teachers;

5. Follow the Arkansas Physical Education and Health Education Frameworks in grades K-12;

6. Not use food or beverages as rewards for academic, classroom, or sports performances;

7. Ensure that drinking water is available without charge to all students;

8. Establish class schedules, and bus routes that don’t directly or indirectly restrict meal access;

9. Provide students with ample time to eat their meals in pleasant cafeteria and dining areas;

10. Establish no more than nine (9) school wide events that permit exceptions to the food and beverage limitations established by Rule.  The schedule of the events shall be by school, approved by the principal, and shall be part of the annual school calendar;

11. Abide by the current allowable food and beverage portion standards;

12. Meet or exceed the more stringent of Arkansas’ or the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Nutrition Standards for reimbursable meals and a la’ carte foods served in the cafeteria;

13. Restrict access to competitive foods as required by law and Rule; 

14. Conform new and/or renewed vending contracts to the content restrictions contained in the Rules and reduce district dependence on profits from the sale of competitive foods.

15. Provide professional development to all district staff on the topics of nutrition and/or physical activity;

16. Utilize the School Health Index available from the Center for disease Control (CDC) to assess how well the district is doing at implementing this wellness policy and at promoting a healthy environment for its students;

     Advisory Committee

To enhance the district’s efforts to improve the health of our students, a School Nutrition and Physical Activity Advisory Committee (SNPAAC) shall be formed.  It shall be structured in a way that ensures age-appropriate recommendations are made which correlate to our district’s grade configurations.  The SNPAAC shall have the powers and responsibilities delegated to it by statute and Rule and are incorporated into this policy by reference. The overarching goal of the committee shall be to promote student wellness by monitoring how well the district is doing at implementing this policy.  The SNPAAC shall use modules 1, 2, 3, 4, and 8 of the CDC’s School Health Index as a basis for annually assessing each school’s progress toward meeting the requirements of this policy.  The results of the annual assessment shall be included in each school’s ACSIP, provided to each school’s principal, and reported to the board.  Goals and objectives for nutrition and physical activity shall also be included in the ACSIP.

Members of the District’s Board of Directors, school administrators, school community members shall be included in the development, implementation, and periodic review of the District’s wellness policy to the extent interested persons from each group desire to be included.

The SNPAAC shall provide recommendations to the school district concerning menus and other foods sold in the school cafeteria.  Such recommendations shall be based, at least in part, on the information the Committee receives from the District on the requirements and standards of the National School Lunch Program and information and from menus for the National School Lunch Program and other food sold in the school cafeteria on a quarterly basis.

The District will work with the SNPAAC to:

1.  Encourage participation in extracurricular programs that support physical activity, such as walk-to-school programs, biking clubs, after-school walking etc.

2. B.  Encourage the implementation of developmentally appropriate physical activity in after-school childcare programs for participating children;

3. C.  Promote the reduction of time youth spend engaged in sedentary activities such as watching television and playing video games, and

4. Encourage the development of and participation in family-oriented community-based physical activity programs.

The District shall periodically assess, with input from the SNPACC, the District and individual schools’ status regarding implementing this policy.  The assessment shall be based, at least in part, on: the extent to which District schools are in compliance with this policy;

● the extent to which this policy compares to other model local school wellness policies; and

● a description of the progress made in attaining the goals of this policy.

The assessment results along with the content of this policy shall be periodically reported to the public, including parents, students, and other members of the community.