The Board recognizes the relationship between student well-being and student achievement as well as the importance of a comprehensive district wellness program. The primary goals of the Ava R-I School District's wellness program are to promote student health, reduce student overweight/obesity, facilitate student learning of lifelong healthy habits and increase student achievement. The following procedures will guide the implementation of the district wellness program.
Last year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the federal agency that oversees the federal school nutrition programs, passed new rules to make sure school wellness policies were up to date.
We recently made some updates to our wellness policy to make sure we meet the federal rules. These changes include:
- Any food or beverage the district provides or makes available to students during the school day must meet or exceed the Smart Snacks nutrition standards, such as making sure the first ingredient listed is a whole grain, fruit, vegetable, protein food or dairy product. Foods provided, but not sold; to students include foods used in celebration or classroom parties and food used as a reward.
- Students will be allowed to take water into the classroom, provided that the water is in a clear, non-breakable, capped container, such as a water bottle to prevent spills.
