Equitas Academy School Wellness Policy Assessment Tool

This assessmenttool should be completed by the Coordinated Health School Team (members can include teachers, other staff, students, parents, community partners).

Completion of the assessment tool will help team members determine where their school is currently at with meeting the expectations of the School Wellness Policy.

A progress evaluation of each school’s progress will be completed by school personnel during each school year.

Where wellness policies are not in place, an action plan should be discussed to adhere to the original plan. Amendments to the Wellness Policy may also be suggested and submitted for Board Approval.

Questions If you have questions about the assessment tool, please contact Jon Host, Chief Operating Officer at

Instructions

The chart below is excerpted from the School Wellness Policy. Not all items from the wellness policy are listed, rather only those sections that school principals are responsible for implementing.

Taking the chart below, the school’s Coordinated Health School Team should determine if a particular section of the wellness policy is either Fully In Place or Partially In Place at their school, and place an ‘X’ where appropriate. Keep the results of your assessment tool; you will need it for the evaluation report that will be turned in to the district at a later date (more information will be provided in the near future).

A. Food and Beverages In Schools
Wellness Policy Language:
Equitas Academy shall ensure that reimbursable school meals meet the program requirements and nutrition standards found in federal regulations. The district shall encourage students to make nutritious food choices.
Equitas Academy shall monitor food and beverages sold or served to students, including those available outside the federally regulated child nutrition programs. /
Fully in Place
X /
Partially in Place
X /
Not in Place
List steps you will take to meet implementation deadline; list challenges/barriers to implementation
Daily Snacks. Single-serving size snacks (except for nuts, seeds, and cheese) should have no more than 6 grams of fat and meet the following three criteria: Contain 300 or fewer calories one or more grams of fiber, or at least 10% of Calcium, Iron, Vitamin A or Vitamin C
The lists below will help identify healthy food and beverages that are available from food-service distributors and snack vendors for service at Equitas Academy:
  • Fresh fruit and vegetables
  • Yogurt
  • Bagels with low fat cream cheese
  • Baby carrots and other vegetable and low fat dip
  • Trail mix
  • Nuts and seeds
  • Fig cookies
  • Animal crackers
  • Baked chips
  • Low fat popcorn
  • Granola bars
  • Soft pretzels and mustard
  • Pudding
  • String cheese
  • Cereal bar
  • Bottled water (including flavored water)
/ X / *More choices for lunch
* It would be nice to have more options than juice/fruit and milk to drink.
* Food does not meet Equitas guidelines but at time contradict Equitas views on food.
* The scholars need more food to eat; the menu is not a variety.
* Scholars need more of a variety than yogurt and cookies, that’s all they eat
* Equitas does not follow their own policy in place, there is not enough food for scholars to eat and some eat different things than what it states.
School Meals. Equitas Academy shall offer school meal programs with menus meeting the meal patterns and nutrition standards established by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Equitas Academy shall encourage students to make food choices based on the most current Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Food and beverages that compete with the district’s policy of promoting a healthy school environment shall be discouraged.
Equitas Academy shall monitor food service distributors and vendors to ensure that they provide healthy food and beverage choices that comply with this policy’s purpose. / X / *More choices for lunch
* It would be nice to have more options than juice/fruit and milk to drink.
* Food does not meet Equitas guidelines but at time contradict Equitas views on food.
* The scholars need more food to eat; the menu is not a variety.
* Scholars need more of a variety than yogurt and cookies, that’s all they eat
* Equitas does not follow their own policy in place, there is not enough food for scholars to eat and some eat different things than what it states.
No Candy. Equitas Academy shall strongly discourage using candy and sweets as a reward. / X
School Sales. Soft drinks and candy will not be sold to students on school grounds prior to the start of the school day and throughout the instructional day, / X
Healthy Celebrations. Equitas Academy shall strongly encourage serving healthy food at school parties. Notices shall be sent to parents/guardians either separately or as part of a school newsletter, reminding them of the necessity of providing healthy treats for students and/or encouraging the use of non-food treats for classroom birthday or award celebrations. / X
Strong Staff Modeling. All employees of Equitas Academy are encouraged to be a positive healthy lifestyle role model for students by following, at a minimum, these administrative rules, including non- consumption of pop or candy during the school day outside of the teacher’s lounges / X
B. Nutrition Education
Wellness Policy Language:
Nutrition education that teaches the knowledge, skills and values needed to adopt healthy eating behaviors shall be integrated into the curriculum and school activities. Nutrition education information shall be offered throughout the school campus. /
Fully in Place
X /
Partially in Place
X /
Not in Place
List steps you will take to meet implementation deadline; list challenges/barriers to implementation
Positive Promotion. Positive examples of making healthy eating choices and encouraging physical activity should be visible throughout the school.
Students should receive consistent messages and support for:
  • Self respect
  • Respect for others
  • Healthy eating
  • Physical activity
/ X / * MPR - there is no visibility outside of MPR that makes it a safety issue.
Nutrition Curriculum. Nutrition education, a component of comprehensive health education, shall be offered to the students of the district. Nutrition education topics, including how to read food labels, shall be integrated into the curriculum when appropriate. / X / * Family nights do not have curriculum
* More can be done to inform families
* It could be very nice to inform families
Parent Education. Nutrition Education should also be made available to parents/guardians and the community. This nutrition education may be provided in the form of handouts, wall or bulletin board posters or banners, postings on the school website, community and student oriented presentations or other communications focused on promoting proper nutrition and healthy lifestyles. / X / * Why don't you have more information or classes for parents?
* Movement Opportunities throughout the Day
* No Equitas does not have any education about physical education
C. Physical Activity
Wellness Policy Language:
Equitas Academy shall offer physical education opportunities that include the components of a quality physical education program. Physical education shall equip students with the knowledge and skills needed for lifelong physical activity.
All students, K-2 , shall have the opportunity to participate regularly in supervised physical activities, either organized or unstructured, promoting physical fitness. /
Fully in Place
X /
Partially in Place
X /
Not in Place
List steps you will take to meet implementation deadline; list challenges/barriers to implementation
Physical Education for All Students. Developmentally appropriate physical education shall be offered every year to students. / X / This can be tricky since some of the classes on Friday are mixed during PE and they visually usually have the same activities.
* I would like more physical activity incorporated if possible at least 45min -1 hour more for our scholars.
* Scholars need more time
Movement Opportunities throughout the Day. Physical education topics shall be integrated into the curriculum when appropriate. / X
Unstructured Playtime. The district should offer daily opportunities for unstructured physical activity, commonly referred to as recess, for students in Kindergarten through fifth grade. Recess should be in addition to physical education class time and not be a substitute for physical education. / X / *Recess and PE are combined currently
* Scholars need more time
* You need to be clearer in this survey to understand.
Equipment. Equitas Academy shall provide proper equipment and a safe area designated for supervised recess in the elementary setting. / X / * Playground equipment can always be difficult since, there could be blind spots even with two teachers.
* Scholars need more equipment and things to play with.
* No students do not have enough time, they have energy to burn and its necessary for these kids to
* You need more equipment