Wellness Policy
Worcester Public Schools (WPS) is committed to providing school environments that promote and protect children’s health, well-being, and ability to learn by supporting lifelong habits of healthy eating and physical activity.
Worcester Public Schools partners with students at every grade level through a comprehensive curriculum to acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to make healthy lifestyle choices.
WPS wellness committee utilized the WPS Health and Wellness Roadmap, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development’s (ASCD) Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child approach (WSCC) and the UConn WellSat 3.0 to inform a revised Wellness Policy for school year 2024/25.
WPS will ensure that:
All students in grades PreK-12 will have opportunities, support, and encouragement to be physically active regularly.
Reimbursable breakfast and lunches will be served in compliance with federal, state, and local regulations.
WPS nutrition department will ensure that students are provided a variety of nutritious and appealing foods that meet the health and nutrition needs of students.
WPS health curriculum will provide education that fosters healthy behaviors that provide students with the skills to maintain health. Nutritional lessons will be age-appropriate and taught at every grade to facilitate the students being able to learn about the importance of nutrition in health and wellness.
WPS teachers and staff will not use food as a reward or punishment for students. When food is used in the classroom, all foods shall comply with the competitive food standards, (listed in this document).
Ensure that marketing on the school campus will be limited to those products that are allowed to be sold according to the district’s nutrition standards for competitive food.
The WPS will work with our existing Wellness Committee, a subgroup of our School Health Advisory Committee (SHAC) to develop, implement, monitor, review, and as necessary, revise school health, nutrition, and physical activity policies. The Committee will also serve as a resource to school sites for implementing these policies.