School Wellness Advisory Committee

RANDOLPH PUBLIC SCHOOLS
WELLNESS POLICY (Download PDF)

Policy:

The Randolph community recognizes that lifetime wellness, social/emotional skills, and daily physical activity are vitally important to the academic success and overall well-being of each and every child. As such, the Randolph Public Schools are striving to meet the academic, physical, social, and emotional needs of all our students. To encourage the children and accomplish this goal the district has implemented, and continues to modify, a PreK-12 Comprehensive School Wellness Program.

Education and promotion of good decision making skills is a crucial focal point of the Wellness Program. The ability and skills to make good choices are essential to lifetime wellness and the pursuit of lifelong happiness. All recent national data points to one important finding: active and healthy students have a higher probability of success and achievement in every aspect of life. However, at the same time we recognize that many students are confronted on a daily basis by difficult choices regarding a multitude of options. Physical activity, sound nutrition, weight issues, social activities, relationships/sexual activity, substance use, technology, etc. pose increasingly difficult daily decisions, especially as our students mature. The purpose of our sequential Wellness Program is to guide our students by offering accurate information and inspiring high quality decision-making skills. Health and wellness education is best learned, like other subjects, through repeated consistent messages. Our goal is to encourage, educate, and motivate our students to make positive daily decisions and develop healthy lifetime habits.

The Randolph Public Schools Comprehensive School Wellness Program will assist us in attaining our goals. This Program includes the following elements:

1. Promotion of a healthy school environment to provide a safe, nurturing, and challenging climate where students are recognized, known, and "connected" to caring adults and peers. Students, families and staff will be encouraged to seek assistance as needed for connection to school or community resources.
2. A wide range of student services in a Coordinated School Health Model with the goal that students have access to coordinated programs of health education, physical education, health services, nutrition services, counseling/psychological services, community service, healthy school environment, health promotion for staff, and family/community involvement.
3. An engaging PreK-12 curriculum delivered by effective instruction and ongoing assessment in conjunction with the Massachusetts Health Curriculum Frameworks, and one which is fueled by opportunities of professional development for staff.
4. Opportunities to encourage and practice making good choices.
5. Extracurricular and co-curricular opportunities, student assistance programs, mentoring, and peer programs to encourage expression of thoughts and feelings in a responsible manner, and to give and receive support from others.

A School Wellness Advisory Committee consisting of representatives from a wide range of school health and health-related disciplines (including but not limited to: school nurses, health, family and consumer science and physical education staff, community agencies serving youth, parents, students, school administrators, teachers and the school committee representation) who will meet a minimum of four times a year to recommend, review, and help implement school district policies addressing school nutrition, nutrition education, physical activity and related issues that affect student health.

Rationale:

Coordinated School Health Programs can provide an incredible support network for students and staff that promote health and well-being. The components of the Randolph Public School Wellness Program include the Nutrition and Food Services program, Wellness Education (Nutrition, Health, and Physical Education), Health Services, and other school-based activities that are designed to promote lifelong Wellness and sound decision- making.

Student and staff wellness is a core value for the Randolph Public Schools. The School Wellness Advisory Committee will recommend and/or review district-wide policies to promote student wellness, such as those addressing health education and services, school nutrition, the nutrition environment, physical education, and opportunities for physical activity around the school environment.

References:

Sect. 204 of Public Law 108-265-June 30, 2004: Child Nutrition & WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004, M.G.L. 105 CMR 225.000:
http://www.malegislature.gov/Laws/SessionLaws/Acts/2010/Chapter197 M.G.L. 105 CMR 215.000: http://www.lawlib.state.ma.us/source/mass/cmr/cmrtest/105CMR215.pdf School Nutrition Guide: http://www.mass.gov/eohhs/docs/dph/mass-in-motion/school-nutrition- guide.pdf

John Stalker Institute "A List": http://www.johnstalkerinstitute.org/alist.pdf

Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education: Comprehensive Health Frameworks

National Physical Education Standards Massachusetts Action for Healthy Kids

Massachusetts Department of Public Health: Wellness at Work Program Various Public School Wellness Policies throughout the Commonwealth