Poughkeepsie City School District

Pillar 1: Personal Safety

Self-Protection – making the correct choices.
Avoiding compromising situations and environments in-person and online.
Alcohol & drug awareness
Financial literacy

The district will:

• Offer expert training on how to identify and avoid online predators, bullies and unwanted solicitors.
• Include alcohol and drug awareness units in high school and middle school health curriculum.
• Support Drug Awareness Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.).
• Include financial literacy as part of a high school elective course (e.g., Business)

Pillar 2: Safe & Healthy Environments

The district will:

• Maintain safe school facilities through routine inspections, maintenance and repairs.
• Implement supervision strategies that support safe transitions, arrival and dismissal, recess and extracurricular activities.
• Support active transportation initiatives, including walking and bicycling, while prioritizing safety through community partnerships and education.
• Maintain protocols that support emergency preparedness, crisis response and safe school operations.
• Ensure policies and practices promote dignity, respect and protection from bullying, harassment and intimidation.
• Foster safe school environments by promoting policies and practices that protect students from physical harm and support safe movement throughout the school day. Safe schools encompass respect for all, emergency readiness, gang prevention and intervention, resilient kids/safer schools and school safety.
• Establish and maintain infrastructure for policy oversight, implementation, monitoring, and accountability through the District Wellness Committee (DWC).
• Ensure access to clean facilities, safe drinking water, and well-maintained indoor and outdoor spaces.
• Promote environmental health practices that support hygiene, sanitation, and air quality.

• Minimize commercial distractions by permitting only wellness-aligned food and beverage marketing on District property.

Marketing of Foods and Beverages

Any food or beverage that is marketed on school grounds during the school day must meet at least the federal nutrition standards for competitive items.

This restriction applies to all school buildings (interior and exterior), school grounds, school buses and other vehicles used to transport students, athletic fields, structures, parking lots, school publications and items such as vending machines, equipment, posters, garbage cans or cups.

Marketing includes all advertising and promotions: verbal, written or graphic, or promotional items.

This restriction does not apply to personal opinions or expression, or items used for educational purposes.

This restriction applies to all purchases and contracts made after the effective date of this provision.

Pillar 3: Mental Health Awareness

The district will prioritize mental health awareness by promoting education, mindfulness, early identification and access to supports that address students’ emotional and psychological well-being.

Mental Health

Schools will provide mental health awareness/support through workshops, curriculum-approved classes and community involvement aimed at the knowledge and skills necessary to promote health [i.e., enjoyable, developmentally appropriate (hands-on, field trip)].

Mental and Behavioral Health and Wellness:

The district recognizes mental and behavioral health as a continuum ranging from wellness to illness and will provide an environment that promotes the social, emotional and psychological well-being of students and staff.

The district will:

• Provide access to credentialed school psychologists, school counselors, school nurses, school social workers, crisis intervention specialist and/or school based mental health practitioners who encourage and support students in making healthy decisions, managing emotions, and coping with trauma and/or crisis events.
• Encourage staff to participate in Trauma Informed Awareness/Awareness Education that addresses the emotional safety needs of at-risk youth in order to improve students' emotional and mental health while providing a safe space at school.

Pillar 4: Social Emotional Learning (SEL)

The New York State Education Department uses SEL to mean Social Emotional Learning, a process for students to develop skills like managing emotions, building relationships and making responsible decisions. It includes acquiring the knowledge, attitudes and skills to understand and manage emotions, set positive goals, show empathy and make responsive choices, which benefit academic achievement, school climate and personal well-being.

The district will:

• Embed SEL practices into curriculum, school culture and daily interactions
• Promote student voice, engagement and leadership in wellness initiatives
• Encourage positive relationships among students, staff and families
• Align SEL efforts with wellness promotion activities, including nutrition and physical activity initiatives

Pillar 5: Nutrition

Foods and Beverages Available to Students on School Campus During the School Day:

The Board recognizes that a nutritious, well-balanced, reasonably-portioned diet is essential for student wellness. To help students possess the knowledge and skills necessary to make nutritious food choices for a lifetime, the district shall ensure that all foods and beverages available in school promote good nutrition, balance and reasonable portion sizes. The district shall ensure that all foods and beverages available for sale to students on the school campus during the school day meet or exceed the program requirements and nutrition standards found in federal regulations.

To accomplish this, the Board directs that the district serve healthy and appealing foods and beverages at district schools, following state and federal nutrition guidelines, as well as safe food preparation methods.

School Meals – the district shall:

• Include fruits, vegetables, salads, whole grains and low fat items at least to the extent required by federal regulations.
• Encourage students to try new or unfamiliar items.
• Make efforts to ensure that families are aware of need-based programs for free or reduced-price meals and encourage eligible families to apply.
• Consider serving produce and food from local farms and suppliers.
• Make free drinking water available at locations where meals are served.
• Periodic taste testing will be done in all school cafeterias to introduce new foods.
• Review and monitor the foods and beverages served in the cafeterias in regard to their nutritional values and enhance such values where possible, taking financial impact into consideration.

Foods and Beverages Sold Individually – the district shall:

• Ensure that all such items meet the nutrition standards set in federal regulations for competitive foods regarding whole grains, fruits, vegetables, calories, fat, saturated fats, trans fats, sugar, sodium and caffeine.
• Permit the sale of fresh, frozen or canned fruits and vegetables, if processed pursuant to federal regulations, as exempt from the nutrition standards.
• Work with existing vendors or locate new vendors that will comply with nutrition standards.

Fund-Raising Activities – the district shall:

• Ensure that all fundraisers selling food or beverages to students on school campus during the school day meet the competitive foods nutrition standards set in federal regulations.
• Promote non-food items to sell, or activities (physical or otherwise) in which to participate.
• If food items are sold and consumed during the school day then they must meet the Federal Smart Snack Standards.

Pillar 6: Physical Fitness

Recess

• A daily allotment of at least 20 minutes recess time will be maintained for elementary schools (pre-k to grade 5)
• Recess shall not be used for punishment or reward.
• Recess is permitted to be scheduled before lunch.
• Recess will be held outdoors whenever possible and indoors during the most inclement weather, at the discretion of the Building Principal.

Physical activity is an important factor in staying healthy and being ready to learn. The Board encourages every student to develop the knowledge and skills necessary to perform a variety of physical activities, to regularly participate in physical activity, and to appreciate and enjoy physical activity as an ongoing part of a healthy lifestyle.

Physical Education

• Students shall engage in physical education for at least the minimum number of hours or days per week under State requirements.
• Physical Education classes shall incorporate the appropriate NYS Learning Standards.
• Promote, teach and provide opportunities to practice activities that students enjoy and can pursue throughout their lives (e.g., yoga, fitness walking, step aerobics).
• The performance or withholding of physical activity shall not be used as a form of discipline or punishment.

Physical Activity in the Classroom

• Promote the integration of physical activity in the classroom, both as activity breaks and as part of the educational process (e.g., kinesthetic learning). Students shall not be required to engage in physical activity as punishment.

Extracurricular Opportunities for Physical Activity

Promote clubs and activities that meet the various physical activity needs, interests, and abilities of all students.

Promote students walking/biking to school (with proper storage of bicycles), safe routes to school, and “walking” school buses.

Allowing access after school to the fitness room/ designated athletic fields for individual student use.

Offering athletic sports teams.

Monitoring, Review and Recordkeeping

The Executive Director of Health, Physical Education, Health Services, Athletics & Recreation, as District Wellness Coordinator, shall report every three years to the Board and the public on the implementation and effectiveness of this policy.

The district shall monitor and review the implementation and effectiveness of this policy by conducting periodic surveys, reviews of nutritional content, checks of physical education time, review of student fitness data, and completion of relevant portions of the CDC School Health Index.

The district shall keep records as required by federal regulations.