Local wellness policies are an important tool for parents, local educational agencies (LEAs) and school districts to promote student wellness, prevent and reduce childhood obesity, and provide assurance that school meal nutrition guidelines meet the minimum Federal school meal standards. Since the beginning of the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004 (Public Law 108-265), The School District of Palm Beach County has emphasized ongoing implementation and assessment of its “Local Wellness Policy” also called the “Wellness Promotion Policy (2.035)”
The Wellness Promotion Task Force continuously expands its’ team of internal and community collaborators by fostering a broad-based support and enhancing the goals set forward by the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 (Public Law 111-296). The Act of 2010 requires The School District of Palm Beach County to inform and update the public about the content and implementation of this policy. Below are a few tools that were used during the 2012-2013 school year to develop, implement, disseminate, and assess the effectiveness of the Wellness Promotion Policy in the District and community.
Wellness Promotion Task Force Meetings
The Wellness Promotion Task Force (WPTF) creates a forum for the district and community partners to collaborate in promoting healthier lives. The goal of improving student performance can only be reached by encouraging a proactive approach to holistically address the health, wellness, and safety for all school children and staff, parents and the community. The Task Force is a coalition that is instrumental in promoting wellness and fulfilling the requirements under Public Law 111-296. There are five formal Task Force meetings during each school year to discuss current wellness events, showcase wellness efforts and introduce new ideas and topics to everyone. We delivered five successful WPTF meetings in the 2012-2013 school year and had remarkable speakers and presentations. There was great participation from district’s leadership and administrators, students, teachers, parents and many community partners and stakeholders. The 2nd Annual “Wellness Celebration” featured Brian Sheen PhD who provided the audience a powerful message of “The Privilege of Living Life!” The celebration provided many tokens of gratitude to individuals that worked diligently through the school year in numerous wellness initiatives. This wellness recognition event was a true celebration of success and so many attendees enjoyed the evening.
Wellness Promotion Task Force Surveys
The Task Force meetings were surveyed and results of all five meetings were compiled for future assessment and direction of the Task Force.
Web Sites
The new Act of 2010 (Public Law 111-296) requires the District to periodically measure and compare their established policy against other model local school wellness policies. The Florida Healthy District Coordinated School Health website has put together a Florida School District Profiles web page showing The School District of Palm Beach County as a Gold District (2012-2014) and compares other Best Practices. The School District of Palm Beach County is an active member of the Healthy District Collaborative (HDC). The HDC is a group of districts that have made a high level commitment to meeting the health needs of students and staff in order to remove barriers to learning and maximize district resources.
Annual Reports
Annually the District develops, with the leadership of the Wellness Promotion Task Force, a Wellness Promotion Policy (WPP) Annual Report. This report highlights the many initiatives throughout the community and the district that have been accomplished to continue on our path to wellness.
Sunshine State School Public Relations Association (SUNSPRA) is an organization dedicated to the needs, goals, and professional development of public relations experts who specialize in education communications. It is the definitive organization for Public Relations professionals with ties to National School Public Relations Association network. Quality educational communications and public engagement contribute to quality education for students.
SUNSPRA announced the 2013 Sunshine Medallion Award winners and The School District of Palm Beach County was awarded 1st place for the “Wellness Annual Report” entry for its “2012 Wellness Promotion Policy Annual Report” under the Publications and Public Relations Tools category. The District’s Wellness Promotion Task Force has been recognized three years in a row for its magnificent annual reporting tool.
The purpose of the 6th edition Wellness Promotion Policy Annual Report was to continue building on the district’s wellness journey, which began seven years ago. The Annual Report is comprised of six main areas: Introduction, Nutrition Education, Physical Activity, Other School/Department Based Activities, Nutrition Standards/Promotion, and United Resources all of which identify the direct correlation to the eight Coordinated School Health (CSH) components. Each contributor focused on “Perseverance” as the core theme for the Annual Report. As all district employees (from academic to non-instructional) strive to accomplish one common goal of improving student performance holistically, many of them have taken on the additional demands of living and teaching a life rich in health and wellness into their own hands.
The WPP Annual Report reflects the efforts and the partnership between The School District of Palm Beach County and its community partners who successfully collaborate in promoting healthier lives. With the District’s ultimate goal of improving student performance, the direction of the Wellness Promotion Task Force is to encourage a proactive approach to holistically address the health, wellness, and safety for all school children and staff, parents, and the community.
