DAVENPORT SCHOOLS HOSTS COMMUNITY
FORUM ON STUDENT WELLNESS

As part of the process of developing a new Student Wellness policy, the Davenport Community Schools is hosting a community forum on Tuesday, February 21, at 6 p.m. at the Administrative Services Center at 1606 Brady Street.  During the forum, information about the background of the federally mandated policy will be provided.  A group of staff members from all of the school districts in Scott County, along with Scott County Kids and the School Health Initiative, have been meeting for several months to draft recommendations which could be adopted county-wide.  This forum is set to provide parents, staff and students of the Davenport Schools another opportunity to hear about the recommendations and provide some input for the Board policy committee as recommendations are formalized.  The policy will go into place by July 1, 2006 and be effective with the next school year.

The policy includes goals for physical activity, nutrition education, nutrition and other school-based activities designed to promote student wellness. The policy is divided into the following sections:

• Physical Activity – Speaks to the amount of time spent in physical education activities, teaching physical activity skills, promotion of lifelong fitness, and the provision of physical fitness assessments on a regular basis

• Nutrition Education – Speaks to the provision of age-appropriate nutrition education, nutrition-related skills, and includes nutrition guidelines for all foods available on the school campus as well as Food Service/Nutrition Services at schools modeling the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

• Food Service Sales and Food Service Programs/Ala Carte Sales – Speaks to nutritional guidelines for foods and beverages provided/sold on school campuses during the instructional day, sets limitations and guidelines for vending machine sales; encourages availability of fresh fruits/vegetables as well as a price structure that encourages students to purchase nutritious items.

• Fundraising – Speaks to guidelines and restrictions on food/beverage items which can be sold during the instructional day and encourages non-food fundraisers or the sale of food which meets the nutritional guidelines.

• Classrooms – Speaks to ensuring that food served in classrooms meets the nutritional guidelines of the policy, which includes snacks and birthday treats, and the importance of asking adult staff to model nutritious food and beverage choices.

• Monitoring Implementation and Evaluation – Speaks to ways the policy can provide monitoring and measurement of the guidelines, including establishing a district-level committee to oversee the administration of the policy.