To comply with Federal law, each school district participating in a program authorized by the National School Lunch Act must have a school wellness policy in place.  To develop and implement that policy, the law requires that parents, students, representatives of the school food authority, the school board, school administrators, and the public work together in what is frequently called a wellness committee.  The existence of a committee whose function is to examine wellness policies and outcomes at a district level is an incredible opportunity, but one of which far too few school districts take full advantage.  Used to their full capacity, these committees could be a crucial link between schools and communities in dealing with health issues that go beyond the school day.  They could also be used to examine and address health and nutrition issues that are unique to or different in particular districts, and to develop and help implement the specific policies that each school district needs.

School superintendents should examine their wellness committees to ensure that they engage the community as fully as possible and that the approach they take to school health is as broad and holistic as possible.  They must also be more actively involved in supporting school superintendents through choosing and implementing health curricula and other health policy decisions.

School districts should also provide opportunities and resources for physical education (PE) and health teachers to assess the school environment and policies, using available tools from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).  Additionally, school districts need to address concerns of their health and PE teachers, including lack of facilities/equipment; lack of qualified certified teachers; student: teacher ratio so that it is similar to that of core classes.   All districts should build time into the school day to provide health and PE classes, and should provide adequate professional development opportunities for health and PE teachers

10.a    School districts should periodically convene the appropriate district personnel to assess the school environment and policies through the use of CDC’s School Health Index, CDC Physical Education Curriculum Analysis Tool, CDC’s Health Education Curriculum Analysis Tool

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