School Wellness Advisory CommitTee (SWAC)

Standards for School Wellness Advisory Committees established by Massachusetts M.G.L. c. 111, § 223, 105 CMR 215.000 can be found here.  Per the state regulation, "These committees are intended to ensure that each public school district has an established group of school staff and concerned community representatives to recommend, review and help implement school district policies addressing school nutrition, nutrition education, physical activity and related issues that affect student health."  Committee members are appointed byt the superintendent and include, "at a minimum representatives from a wide range of school health and health-related disciplines, including school nurses, school nutrition and physical activity staff, community agencies serving youth, parents, students, and the school committee."  Committe membership information can be found here.

The School Wellness Advisory Committee (SWAC) meets 4 - 5 times per school year to discuss current health issues affecting the Shrewsbury Public Schools community, and set health related goals based on community health trends that are identified through data from the Regional Youth Health Survey and in conjunction with District Strategic Priorities. SWAC goals for the 2022-23 and 2023 -24 school years can be found here.  Agendas for recent SWAC meetings are here.

The Regional Youth Health Survey (RYHS) is based on the Centers for Disease Control Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System and is developed in collaboration with the Central Massachusetts Regional Public Health Alliance.  The RYHS is administered on a biennial basis to all students at Shrewsbury High School (SHS) and Oak Middle School (OMS).  The survey asks about the health behaviors of students, including topics such as nutrition, physical activity, sexual health, injury, violence, bullying, tobacco, alcohol, other drug use and mental health.  The RYHS was last administered to Shrewsbury students in December 2023.  SHS results from the 2021 survey can be found here; OMS results can be found here.  Results from the 2023 survey will be posted when the reports are available.

SWAC is responsible for the development and triennial review of the Local Wellness Policy which is required by law for all Local Educational Agencies enrolled in the National School Lunch and/or National School Breakfast programs. The "Final Rule" of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 210 can be found here.  A Local Wellness policy was first adopted by Shrewsbury Public Schools in 2006, and that policy was revised in 2013.  The existing policy was reviewed by SWAC during the 2021-22 school year using the WellSAT 3.0 assessment tool; the results of that assessment can be found here.  Major revisions were made to the policy based on committee feedback and, after review by the Shrewsbury School Committee, opportunity for public comment, and subsequent approval by the School Committee, the revised Local Wellness Policy was adopted in June 2022 and is now in effect.  That policy can be found here.