Districts develop wellness goals
School districts in Butler County are forming wellness policies that may change what students eat during the day or how long they sit continuously sit at a desk.
Every school district that participates in the federal school lunch program is required to adopt wellness policies by the end of June.
Mandated under the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004, the wellness policies must include goals for nutrition education, physical activity and other behaviors to promote student wellness.
The goals must be accomplished each year for three years.
With deadlines nearing, school committees are brainstorming ways to address student health. They are examining school lunches, physical education and the activity sprinkled through the day.
Somewhat ahead of schedule, the South Butler School District adopted its goals in March.
The policy, "Health and Wellness for All," calls for removing drinks with high sugar content from vending machines.
Educational elements include posting health and safety tips online.
In 2007, according to the policy, South Butler will create an after-school health and wellness program for teens focusing on exercise and walking. The next year the district will add a health and wellness page to its Web site with links to resources.
In the first year, South Butler's policy also calls for using Discovery Health resources in classrooms. The Discovery Channel has videos and lessons on a Web site that is constantly updated.
Videos shown in the past to educate about drugs, violence and health were outdated, said Lyn Logelin, assistant superintendent.
Health, physical education and science teachers used in-service days to begin integrating the site into the curriculum. Assistant principals at each of the district's buildings are responsible for seeing that the policy is implemented.
Logelin said the subscription service was paid by aSafety and Drug Free Schools grant.
In the Seneca Valley School District, student wellness isn't a new concept.
Mary Ann Marchica, assistant superintendent of human resources and pupil services, said the district has had a wellness committee since 1996. The committee was created with members from the staff, both classified and professional.
"Really, it began as an effort to get students to perform or participate in a number of physical wellness activities," she said.
An additional ad-hoc committee formed about four years ago, including community members and parents.
The parent-teacher organization was invited to participate and the feedback from the survey was used by the committee. This committee will review drafts of food service plans. It used surveys to identify the goals and is focusing on meals and both long- and short-term goals.
The committee will look at how to help students make better food and snack choices and examine selections in the school lunch program.Some of the resulting changes will be reflected in the a la carte selection in the cafeterias, Marchica said."We want to make people realize their eating habits and overall picture," she said. "Right now, Reauthorization looks at wellness as (preventing) childhood obesity."For instance, sometimes teachers use food as a reward in the classroom. "That in itself may not be a bad thing, but it's worth consideration," she added.Marchica also said the plan may need to take into account what is served outside the lunchroom — perhaps at classroom holiday parties.Teachers will be sure to work with parents to share information about the food they allow their children to have and what they bring to the classroom."They might say: 'Here's a thought,' and give an example of alternative snacks," she said. They might also provide a list of healthy snacks."Over time the committee may focus in terms of food, exercise and just well-being," she said. The ultimate goal is to find a balance between those concepts and how that applies to education."We care a lot about attendance and being alert," Marchica said.Partnered with eating habits in the fight against obesity are exercise habits. Marchica said exercise for children is becoming a priority. Children shouldn't be living a sedentary life at a computer, Marchica said.Similar to Seneca Valley, the Moniteau School District might also target cafeteria items.Jennifer Zellefrow, who started in February as food service director, said some students might not even notice the effects of wellness policies on their school lunch, since lunches served under the national school lunch program are required to meet state minimum proportion and nutrition regulations.But the district's committee is especially looking at the sugar content of all food and portion sizes, she said.Zellefrow said she ordered her daughter macaroni and cheese off the children's menu at a restaurant and was surprised at how much food she was given."Even a kid's meal looks like that of an adult," she said.In addition to considering reduced portion sizes, Zellefrow said the food used at holiday parties and sold in fund-raisers will be also examined.While at first the changes might seem drastic to someone who has always taken cupcakes with icing to the Valentine's Day party or sold chocolate bars for sports boosters, Zellefrow said students will become accustomed to a more healthy life."Kindergarten students will not notice the changes, but it will be more of a way of life for them," she said."There's going to be some adjustment," she said. But, "no one ever thought restaurants would be smoke free."And everyone will benefit because everyone over the age of 2 needs to follow the same nutrition guidelines."We all need to follow the same basic rules," she said.The Dassa McKinney school nurse,Maggie Beall, said the team approach used for student wellness in districts across the state will have positive outcomes on health.The Moniteau School District is near to finishing its list of goals."School nurses believe children need to be healthy to learn and learn to be healthy," Beall said.Beall said school nurses have been taking the height and weight of students since 1949 as mandated. This was the first year they figured each student's body mass index for annual growth, she said.She said the wellness plan will help students reach their academic potential by making healthy choices.Parent Louise Evans said she has concerns that sending parents a letter with the BMImay pressure students into eating disorders.Evans, of Butler Township, has a daughter who suffered from an eating disorder when she was in school."If you just send home a letter with a number, those who are susceptible to that kind of pressure may begin disordered eating," she said.She said she was concerned that sending home a BMI might give students a goal to strive for like they strive for a grade-point average."That might not be realistic for, say, an athlete," she said.She was also concerned parents might not understand the BMI in context and would pressure children to change eating habits and not give thought to becoming more active.Like many districts, the Allegheny-Clarion Valley School District is still working to complete its wellness policy by July.Superintendent Pat Lukasavich heads up the committee responsible for establishing the goals.He said the committee, which formed in the first weeks of February, will develop the overriding goals using a template set by the state.To learn what the government expects and requires, Lukasavich participated in a conference in March.The committee's goals should address three areas: establishing healthy school nutrition environments, reducing childhood obesity and preventing diet-related chronic diseases.The law says the policy must include the goals, nutrition guidelines and a plan to see how well the policy works that was developed by a sampling of people.The A-C Valley committee, like others, includes parents, students, school food officials, board members, administrators and the public.This committee, Lukasavich said, will look at the general ideas the district wants to accomplish, create a draft and make a proposal to the school board.After the board passes the policy, expected at the June meeting, the committee will cease to exist. Individual schools are responsible for following through with the plans and deciding how it should be implemented, he said."Then the real important part of the process begins," Lukasavich said."It's all at the school level."
