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School Health Advisory Council updates wellness plan after triennial assessment; SHAC identifies policy gaps
Summary
Belton ISD's School Health Advisory Council reported it used a WellSAT triennial assessment to update the district wellness plan, found several policy items missing from written guidance and added recommended changes covering hydration, recess and non-food rewards.
The Belton Independent School District's School Health Advisory Council (SHAC) presented its annual report on Oct. 20 and described changes to the district's wellness plan following a triennial assessment using the WellSAT tool.
Dr. Cassandra Spearman, who leads SHAC, said the council reviewed district policies and written guidance against the WellSAT instrument and scored the district's wellness content. The council's comprehensive score was 70 out of 100 (above the national average of 54), she said, but the strength score revealed gaps where policies were not explicitly written into guidance. Examples SHAC flagged included written language about water availability during the school day, prohibitions on withholding recess for disciplinary or academic reasons and discouraging use of food as a reward.
Spearman said several items were easy to correct because the practices already existed in campuses but were not codified in policy; SHAC updated the wellness plan accordingly. The advisory council also recommended continued partnership with community health providers and said it will continue reviewing curriculum for social-emotional learning, child-abuse prevention and other health curricula. SHAC reported having a robust membership (27 non-employee parents) and said it met six times in 2024-25 to complete the assessment and updates.
No board action was required; the presentation served to inform trustees and document SHAC's compliance with state expectations for school wellness review.
