DoDEA Guam District Wellness Policy
District Philosophy
A healthy lifestyle is essential for the academic success and lifelong well-being of all students.
The Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) Guam District has developed a health and wellness committee that will engage all district stakeholders in programs that establish a link between nutrition, health education, the food served in the schools, physical activity, safety and environmental education, healthy lifestyle, and drug-free awareness.
This policy meets the requirements of DoDEA Regulation 4200.1, dated August 22, 2007; Section 204 of Public Law 108-265, “Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004,” June 30, 2004; Title 7, Code of Federal Regulation, Part 210, “National School Lunch iProgram,” current edition, and “Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010.”
Wellness Committee
The district will convene a representative District Wellness Committee (DWC) to include: representatives from the LEA and FSMC, school administrators, Health/ P.E. educators/students. The committee will meet at least once every three years to assess compliance with policy requirements. This assessment will determine:
- Compliance with the wellness policy
- How the wellness policy compares to model wellness policies
- Progress made in attaining the goals of the wellness policy
Wellness Leadership
The Superintendent or designee(s) will convene the DWC and facilitate development of and updates to the wellness policy, and will ensure each school’s compliance with the policy.
The designated official(s) for oversight is/are (Name, Title/ Role on Committee and contact info)
Name |
Title / Relationship to the School or District |
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Sterling Sotomil |
Nurse |
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TBD |
Student Customer Representative |
---|
TBD |
PE Teacher/ Specialist |
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Gail Wiley |
Community Superintendent (LEA) |
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TBD |
Principal |
---|
Raystell Walker |
Program Analyst |
---|
Henry Torres |
Program Specialist (LEA) |
---|
Fred Bamba |
GFS Program Manager |
---|
Annual Notification of Policy
The District will actively inform families and the public each year of basic information about this policy, including its content, any updates to the policy and implementation status. The District will make this information available via school handbooks in the beginning of the school year and via the “Health and Wellness” tab on the school webpages. The District will provide as much information as possible about the school nutrition environment. Annually, the District will also publicize the name and contact information of the District/school officials leading and coordinating the committee, as well as information on how the public can get involved with the school wellness committee.
Recordkeeping
The District will retain records to document compliance with the requirements of the wellness policy. Documentation maintained will include:
- The written wellness policy;
- Documentation demonstrating that the policy has been made available to the public;
- Documentation of efforts to review and update the Local Schools Wellness Policy; including an indication of who is involved in the update and methods the district uses to make stakeholders aware of their ability to participate on the DWC;
- Documentation to demonstrate compliance with the annual public notification requirements;
- The most recent assessment on the implementation of the local school wellness policy;
- Documentation demonstrating the most recent assessment on the implementation of the Local School Wellness Policy has been made available to the public.
Revisions and Updating the Policy
The DWC will update or modify the wellness policy based on the results of triennial assessments and/or as District priorities change; community needs change; wellness goals are met; new health science, information, and technology emerges; and new Federal or state guidance or standards are issued. The wellness policy will be assessed and updated as indicated at least every three years.
Goals
- Based on adopted Curriculum Content Standards, all students in grades PreK-12 will have education, opportunities, support, and encouragement to be physically active on a regular basis. The following are the DoDEA PreK-12 Health Education Curriculum Content Strands (HESK):
- Health Literacy Skills
- Personal and Community Health
- Safety and Injury Prevention
- Nutrition and Physical Activity
- Mental Health
- Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drugs
- Family Life and Human Sexuality
- Foods and beverages sold or served at school will meet the USDA School Meal Nutrition Standards and Smart Snacks in School Nutrition Standards.
- Schools will provide nutrition education and physical education to foster lifelong habits of healthy eating and physical activity, and will establish connections between health education, physical education, school meal programs, and related community services and opportunities.
Physical Education
The Guam District envisions students enjoying physical activity, developing physical fitness, and pursuing wellness as part of lifelong learning.
The DoDEA Physical Education Standards can be found on the DoDEA web page: https://www.dodea.edu/curriculum/physical-education-pe. DoDEA Physical Education Standards are aligned with the National PE Standards.
The National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) states, “Physical activity is critical to the development and maintenance of good health. The goal of physical education is to develop physically educated individuals who have the knowledge, skills, and confidence to enjoy a lifetime of healthful physical activity.” It is the Guam District’s intention that physical activity and education should be maximized within the schools according to the recommendations stated in this policy.
Integrating Physical Activity into the Classroom
Students should receive the nationally-recommended daily amount of physical activity of at least 60 minutes or more per day, as stated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Students, teachers, and other stakeholders may engage in other physical activity, beyond physical education class.
- Physical activity should include regular instructional physical education, co-curricular activities, and recess;
- Classroom health education will complement physical education by reinforcing the knowledge and self-management skills needed to maintain a physically-active lifestyle and to reduce time spent on sedentary activities;
- Opportunities for physical activity will be incorporated into other subject lessons, such as movement into groups, activity to activity, changing classes, moving to tasks, walking to the lunchroom;
- Classroom teachers may provide short physical activity breaks between lessons or classes, as appropriate;
- The district may consider providing family activity program opportunities.
Health
The adopted Health Curriculum includes a wealth of information on health and good nutrition. The DoDEA Health Education Content Standards focus on achievement of health literacy for all students, are aligned to the National Health Education Standards, and can be found on the DoDEA web site: https://www.dodea.edu/curriculum/health-education.
Our schools will provide nutrition education and engage in nutrition promotion that:
- is offered at each grade level 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 integrated into classroom instruction to include curricular areas 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;
- teaches media literacy with an emphasis on food
Guam District Food Service Management Contractor Responsibilities
The Guam District utilizes a contracted food service management company (FSMC) to provide nutritious food under the National School Lunch Program (NSLP). The Guam District ensures the school lunch program adheres to US Department of Agriculture (USDA) guidelines. The Food Service Contract Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) intercedes between the FSMC and the District Superintendent’s Office (DSO) to implement the school lunch program contract and all aspects of the student meal program. FSMC activities include implementation of USDA nutritional guidelines for school lunches, nutrition awareness, and marketing. Contract meal cost and other ancillary items are under COR purview and are guided by this policy for evaluation, recommendations, and all improvement and implementation. The COR conducts annual formal reviews and frequent inspections to ensure contractor adherence to all contract and USDA standards.
Special Dietary Needs
The Guam District ensures USDA requirements are met for students identified with dietary disabilities as adapted from Accommodating Children with Special Dietary Needs in the School Nutrition Programs, Guidance for School Food Services Staff.
Eating Environment
To foster beneficial nutritional habits, the Guam District will consider the following:
- meals scheduled at appropriate times.
- adequate time and space to eat and socialize in a pleasant environment.
- clean and attractive serving and eating areas.
- at least 20 minutes allocated for lunch from the time students are seated.
- tutoring, club, or organizational meetings or activities are not scheduled during mealtimes, unless students may eat during such activities.
- lunch periods scheduled as near to the middle of the day as possible.
- schedule recess before lunch (elementary schools).
- convenient access to hand-washing facilities stocked with soap and/or hand sanitizer before meals.
- schools will be sensitive to students who have food allergies to avoid isolation from peers.
Sharing of Foods and Beverages
Schools will discourage students from sharing foods or beverages with one another during meal or snack times, given concerns about allergies and other dietary restrictions.
Free and Reduced Price Meals
The Guam District offers free and reduced price meals for qualified students in accordance with USDA Food and Nutrition Service Child Nutrition Program Income Eligibility Guidelines. Overt identification of students who are eligible for free and reduced-price school meals is prevented through the use of electronic identification and payment systems.
Smart Snacks in Schools
USDA has implemented practical, science-based nutrition standards for snack foods and beverages sold, provided to, or marketed to children at school during the school day. The standards, required by the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, allow schools to offer healthier snack foods to children, while limiting junk food.
- Nutrition Standards for Foods
- Any food sold in schools must:
- Be a “whole grain-rich” grain product; or
- Have as the first ingredient a fruit, a vegetable, a dairy product, or a protein food; or
- Be a combination food that contains at least ¼ cup of fruit and/or vegetable; or
- Contain 10% of the Daily Value (DV) of one of the nutrients of public health concern in the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (calcium, potassium, vitamin D, or dietary fiber).*
- Foods must also meet several nutrient requirements:
- Calorie limits:
- Snack items: ≤ 200 calories
- Entrée items: ≤ 350 calories
- Sodium limits:
- Snack items: ≤ 200 mg
- Entrée items: ≤ 480 mg
- Fat limits:
- Total fat: ≤35% of calories
- Saturated fat: < 10% of calories
- Trans fat: zero grams
- Sugar limit:
- ≤ 35% of weight from total sugars in foods
- Nutrition Standards for Beverages
- All schools may sell:
- Plain water (with or without carbonation)
- Unflavored low fat milk
- Unflavored or flavored fat free milk and milk alternatives permitted by NSLP
- 100% fruit or vegetable juice and
- 100% fruit or vegetable juice diluted with water (with or without carbonation), and no added sweeteners.
- Elementary schools may sell up to 8-ounce portions, while middle schools and high schools may sell up to 12-ounce portions of milk and juice. There is no portion size limit for plain water.
- Beyond this, the standards allow additional “no calorie” and “lower calorie” beverage options for high school students.
- No more than 20-ounce portions of calorie-free, flavored water (with or without carbonation); and
- Other flavored and/or carbonated beverages that are labeled to contain < 5 calories per 8 fluid ounces or ≤10 calories per 20 fluid ounces.
- No more than 12-ounce portions of beverages with ≤ 40 calories per 8 fluid ounces, or ≤ 60 calories per 12 fluid ounces.
- Other Requirements
- Fundraisers
- The sale of food and beverages that meet the Smart Snacks Standards and sales of nonfood items are not limited under the Federal policy.
- Fundraising activities that occur during non-school hours, on weekends, or at off-campus events are not limited under the Federal Policy.
- Fundraisers selling foods that are intended to be consumed outside the school day are not limited under the Federal policy.
- Accompaniments
- Accompaniments such as cream cheese, salad dressing and butter must be included in the nutrient profile as part of the food item sold.
- This helps control the amount of calories, fat, sugar and sodium added to foods by accompaniments, which can be significant.
Celebrations and Events
Schools should limit celebrations that involve food during the school day to rare occasions that are standards-based with prior approval of school administration. The celebration should include food and /or beverages that are compliant with Smart Snacks regulations. In general, celebrations should not represent personal or religious events. Schools must give the cafeteria 24 hours’ notice of a class or grade not attending the contracted school food service.
School-Sponsored Events (such as, but not limited to, athletic events, dances, or performances)
The majority of foods and beverages offered or sold at school-sponsored events outside the school day (the period from the midnight before, to 30 minutes after, the end of the official school day) will meet the nutrition standards for meals or for foods and beverages sold individually (above). All items sold must have prior approval of school administration.
Food-based Incentives
- Food-cased incentives must be approved by school administration.
- Strong consideration should be given to nonfood items as part of any teacher-to-student incentive programs.
- Teachers who use food items as an incentive must adhere to the Smart Snacks in School Nutrition Standards.
- Teachers should encourage healthy choices when school snacks are utilized.
Staff Wellness
DoDEA Guam Schools will present opportunities for school staff to improve their health through volunteer activities such as:
- health assessments;
- health education; and
- health-related fitness activities.
Natural Outcomes Anticipated:
DoDEA Guam Schools can expect:
- greater commitment to the health of students through positive role modeling.
- encouragement for the staff to pursue a healthy lifestyle.
- improved health status.
- decreased injury/illness.
- improved morale and attitude.
- greater personal commitment.
- improved sense of being a team/community.
- improved productivity.
- decreased absenteeism.
- reduced health insurance costs.