A local school wellness policy (“Wellness Policy”) is a written document that guides a local educational agency (LEA) or school district’s efforts to establish a school environment that promotes students’ health, well-being, and ability to learn. The wellness policy requirement was established by the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004 (Public Law 108-265), and further strengthened by the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 (Public Law 111-296). The School District of Palm Beach County has emphasized ongoing implementation and assessment of its “Wellness Policy” also called the “Wellness Promotion Policy (2.035).”

On February 26, 2014, USDA Food and Nutrition Service proposed regulations to create a framework and guidelines for written wellness policies established by school districts that included the attention to the following topics:

The School District of Palm Beach County continues to inform and update the public about the content and implementation of this policy through the District’s Wellness Promotion Task Force. The Task Force expands its’ participation of internal and community collaborators by fostering a broad-based approach to the values of optimal health, well-being and ability to support the District’s ultimate goal of improving student performance. Below are a few tools that were used during the 2013-2014 school year to develop, implement, disseminate, and assess the effectiveness of the Wellness Promotion Policy in the District and community.

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 2013-2014 school year and had remarkable speakers and presentations. There was great participation from district leadership and administrators, students, teachers, parents, and many community partners and stakeholders. The 3rd Annual “Wellness Celebration” featured an encore presentation from Brian Sheen PhD who provided the audience with an energizing message of “Let’s Celebrate Wellness and Ignite Our Inner Firework to bring Imagination to 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.

The Task Force meetings were surveyed and results of all five meetings
were compiled for future assessment and direction of this Task Force.

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.

In the 2013-2014 school year, the District coordinated again the application process for the Florida Healthy School District Assessment Tool that is provided by the Florida Coordinated School Health Partnership (CSHP), the Florida Action for Healthy Kids, and the Florida Association of District School Superintendents (FADSS) for the 2014-2016 recognition timeframe. The District's infrastructure team for each Coordinated School Health component was updated and stakeholder meetings were organized, including members from the School Health Advisory Council, to review, discuss and complete the assessment tool application. The District submitted its final application and all the verification documentation needed to the Office of Coordinated School Health of the Florida Department of Health and the Office of Healthy Schools from the Florida Department of Education on May 13, 2014. This two year (2014-2016) achievement/recognition will be announced in the summer of 2014.

The history of the Wellness Promotion Policy and the Wellness Promotion Task Force since its inception in 2006 has been historically documented via the Wellness Promotion Policy Annual Reports. The historical archives of these annual reports can be accessed on the button below or within the “United Resources” tab of this WPP Annual Report.