Local Wellness Policy

The Forsyth County School District highly values the health and well-being of every staff member and will provide programs and plan and implement activities that support personal efforts by staff to maintain a healthy lifestyle. 

Schools should provide nutrition education and engage in promoting healthy nutrition that:

• Is offered at each grade level as part of a sequential, comprehensive, standards-based health program designed to provide students with the knowledge and skills necessary to learn and adopt healthy eating habits;
• Provides instruction that is scientifically based;
• Is integrated into other areas of the curriculum such as math, science, literacy/language arts, language arts, social studies, and elective subjects (Examples are counting calories, categorizing quantities, reading labels, calculating caloric intake in comparison to energy expended, etc.);
• Is offered in the cafeteria, serving as a learning laboratory to allow students to apply critical thinking skills taught in the classroom, with coordination between school nutrition staff and teachers;
• Provides/sends throughout the entire school, positive and consistent nutrition messages as taught in the classroom;
• Promotes fruits, vegetables, whole grain products, low-fat and fat-free dairy products, products with minimal added sugar, healthy food preparation methods, and health-enhancing nutrition practices;
• Emphasizes caloric balance between food intake and energy expenditure;
• Includes staff development opportunities for teachers and other staff to adequately prepare them to deliver an accurate nutrition education program as planned;
• Disseminates nutrition information to students, staff, families and the broader community through a variety of methods such as health fairs, publications, morning announcements, signage, the media, etc.;
• Schools will be United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Team Nutrition (TN) Schools. As TN schools, they will register and follow the guidelines of serving nutritious meals.  They will also be encouraged to conduct nutrition education activities and promotions throughout the school year.

Schools should provide opportunities for every student to develop the knowledge and skills for specific physical activities, maintain physical fitness, regularly participate in physical activity, and understand the short- and long-term benefits of a physically active and healthful lifestyle.

Physical Education

• The school provides a physical and social environment that encourages safe and enjoyable activity for all students, including those who are not athletically gifted.
• Physical education is where students learn, practice, and are assessed on developmentally appropriate motor skills and knowledge. It includes the instruction of individual activities as well as competitive and non-competitive team sports to encourage life-long physical activity.
• Students with disabilities are provided "adaptive physical education activities" to encourage activity and movement.
• Time allotted for physical activity during the school day is consistent with research, national, and state standards.
• Physical education classes have a student/teacher ratio consistent with research, national and state standards.
• Physical education instructors are credentialed in field.
• Coaches of interscholastic athletic programs are required to participate in coaches certification course.
• Pertinent staff development opportunities will be provided to physical education and health teachers periodically.

Daily Recess in Elementary Schools

• All elementary school students will have supervised recess daily during which schools should encourage moderate to vigorous physical activity. Schools should provide adequate space and equipment for organized activities.

Physical Activity and Punishment

• Schools will work to avoid the denial of student participation in recess or other physical activity during the school day as a form of discipline. If discipline is needed during recess, a solitary activity requiring physical activity is suggested.

Other Opportunities for Physical Activity

• Physical activity or movement will be integrated across curricula and throughout the school day.  Classroom teachers will provide short physical activity breaks between lessons or classes, as appropriate.
• When sponsors can be secured, students should be given opportunities for physical activity through a range of before and after-school extracurricular programs including intra-murals, interscholastic athletics, and physical activity clubs.

• Students lifelong eating habits are greatly influenced by the types of foods and beverages available to them and the emphasis placed on physical activity. Schools create an environment that provides consistent wellness messages and is conducive to healthy eating and being physically active.

School Meals

• Schools will participate in the National School Breakfast and Lunch Programs and provide meals that comply with the current Federal meal pattern requirements and USDA nutrient standards for school meals.
• Schools provide a clean, safe, and enjoyable meal environment for students.
• Schools will utilize methods to serve school breakfasts that encourage participation, including serving breakfast in the classroom, "grab-and-go"breakfast, or breakfast during morning break or recess. Schools will communicate to both parents and students the availability of breakfast and promote it as a means to enhance academic achievement.
• Denial of access to school meals as punishment is prohibited by law.
• Due to the negative nutritional message often perceived from retail prepared fast food to-go meals on overall student wellness, meals brought in from outside commercial establishments should be eaten in an alternate designated area. Parents and guest are always welcomed as customers of the schools nutrition program to eat with their student in the cafeteria.
• Schools that sell ice cream novelties must sell products that comply with Smart Snack nutritional standards. If sold during the meal time at the elementary level, ice cream can be served only after students have had adequate time to consume their lunch.  Students with outstanding lunch and/or breakfast charges will not be allowed to purchase ice cream. 

Meal Times and Scheduling

• Lunch is scheduled to provide adequate time for students to enjoy eating healthy foods with friends, scheduled as near to the middle of the school day as possible.  Students should be allowed a minimum of 20 minutes to eat after sitting down for lunch. Lunch must be scheduled between 10:00 AM and 2:00 PM daily.  The only exception is lunch may start at 9:30 AM on early release days.
   
• Schools should not schedule tutoring, club, or organizational meetings or activities during mealtimes, unless students may eat during such activities.

Food Safety

• It is strongly recommended that all foods not prepared by staff on campus and made available to students be purchased from a reputable commercial establishment to ensure the safety of students and shall comply with the current US Dietary Guidelines for Americans. This does not pertain to an individual students lunch brought from home.
• Schools will 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.
• Each preparation site is represented by at least one person credentialed in food safety.
• Schools provide safe, clean, and hygienic restrooms. Students are provided an opportunity and are expected to wash their hands before they eat meals or snacks.
• All food handlers and foods available on campus adhere to food safety standards.
• Sanitation deficiencies sited on local inspections are corrected immediately, including facility deficiencies.

Foods Available on School Campuses outside the School Meals

• All foods and beverage sold on campus to students during the school day must meet the nutritional standards as outlined in the Smart Snack regulations.  This includes sales from:
  • Vending Machines
  • A la carte
  • Beverage Contracts
  • Concessions
  • Student stores
• Schools must maintain files to document that all items sold within the school meet the Smart Snack requirements.
• Use of nonfood treats as a reward is encouraged. 
• System wellness policy goals are considered in planning all school-based activities (such as school events, field trips, dances, assemblies, fundraisers).
• The after school childcare program encourages physical activity and promotes healthy eating habits.

Classroom Celebrations

• Use of nonfood treats as rewards and incentives in the classroom is encouraged.
• Classroom celebrations and parties should involve fun participatory events and nonfood treats that encourage physical activity rather than the focus being on food.
• Classroom parties and/or birthday celebrations involving food will not be scheduled more than 1 day per month for any class and should not conflict with participation in the school meal program.

Fundraisers

• All schools shall ensure that food and beverage fundraisers at a minimum meet the requirements as outlined in the Nutrition Standards for All Foods Sold in Schools as required by the Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act of 2010.
  • All foods and beverages that meet the nutrition standards may be sold as fundraisers at anytime and anywhere on the school campus. 
  • The standards do not apply during non-school hours, on weekends and at off-campus fundraising events.
  • The standards do not apply to fundraisers in which the food or beverage is clearly not for consumption on the school campus during the school day.
  • The SBOE has set the number of exempted fundraisers as no more than thirty (30) per school per school year.
    • The number applies to all organizations, programs or entities selling foods to students on the school campus during the school day. The school day is defined as midnight until 30 minutes after dismissal.
    • Each exempted fundraisers may operate no more than three (3) days. This means during the course of the year exempted fundraisers could operate no more than 90 days. This includes all exempted fundraising activities, including sale of and delivery of items.
    • No exempted fundraiser may operate 30 minutes before, during or after meal service is completed anywhere on the school campus.
    • All fundraisers must be approved by submitting a completed “Fundraiser Approval Request” to the Chief of Staff or their designee.
    • The principal, or their designee, is responsible for ensuring that no more than 30 exempted fundraisers were held within the school year.  

PTO, clubs and organizations holding an event (for example a festival or movie night) where food is going to be sold must ensure that the food provider/vendor has a valid food service permit in Forsyth County.  These vendors understand the importance of protecting the public’s health and are trained to utilize safe food handling practices.  The responsibility of selling foods from unpermitted vendors falls on the group hosting the event.  The one exception to this regulation are items baked at home and sold at bake sales.  In this case, the consumer must be informed that the items are “home-made”.

Marketing of Food

• School-based marketing will be consistent with nutrition education and health promotions.  As such, schools will limit food and beverage marketing to the promotion of foods and beverages that meet the nutrition standards for foods sold on school campuses during the school day.
• The Forsyth County Schools Wellness Plan will be assessed annually for effectiveness and implementation. The Forsyth County Schools Coordinated School Health Committee will review yearly goals to insure the most effective measures and standards are in place. This review will help promote and encourage sound nutritional and physical activity practices by students and staff. It will also allow for new research and findings to be incorporated into the system plan for greater effectiveness.  Forsyth County Schools believe strongly that healthy lifestyle habits help improve student and employee success. The Forsyth County Schools Wellness Plan insures focus to this end.