Wellness
AGC incorporates wellness practices to foster the holistic well-being of students and staff. These go beyond traditional academic subjects, aiming to instill habits and knowledge that contribute to a everyone's physical, mental, and emotional health.
AGC's wellness curriculum encompasses a variety of areas including mindfulness, nutrition, exercise, personal hygiene, mental health awareness, and interpersonal skills. By addressing these aspects of wellness since the early years in a child's education, AGC seeks to inspire a lifetime of healthy choices and positive habits, promoting not only academic success, but also overall well-being.
Our School Food Program
Sustainable, Nutritious, Culturally Relevant, Humane
At the Academy for Global Citizenship, we are committed to a Plant-Forward Diet for the health of our planet and for optimal nutrition that serves our students at every stage of development as guided by the Federal School Lunch Program. Our food program centers a fresh or minimally processed variety of plant-based foods that include a diversity of whole grains, fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts and seeds, comprising 75% of our menu. Although our menu is not strictly vegan or vegetarian, animal products will be served only in the following instance:
Eggs and occasional cheese or yogurt to compliment a well rounded and diverse menu. These items are not to exceed 25% of the menu between breakfast and lunch.
In conjunction with a day of learning where a direct producer/farmer/school relationship has been established and a special menu item has been devised to highlight and celebrate an ingredient that meets the five Good Food Purchasing values
As better and more delicious plant-based options become available on the market and included within the scope of approval for the Federal School Lunch program, we will continue to shift our menu towards 100% plant-based.
Pillars of Our School Food Program
Sustainable, Nutritious, Culturally Relevant, Humane
Education: School food is part of the educational curriculum of AGC. Communal mealtimes, what we eat, meal preparation, and how key ingredients make it to our school cafeteria is an intentional and sacred learning experience. This is not a time for students or teachers to check out but rather to move in closer to one another in community and solidarity.
Exploration: The food served at AGC is an opportunity to expose everyone in our community to a specific set of ideas, eating habits and norms related to our school value system and mission. Students explore exciting ways of thinking and being in the community hall, like they do in the classroom. This is not a prescriptive practice, although we invite participation, questions and family engagement at school and at home if you choose.
Perspective Taking: Food and mealtime is a form of perspective taking. We learn about ourselves, each other and other living creatures by taking risks to try new things, sharing what we know and thinking critically.
Activism & Advocacy: We practice activism and advocacy with a local and global lens through how we procure, prepare, eat and share nourishing school food.
Nutritious: We use up-to-date, medically and scientifically supported guidelines that are rooted in the Federal Standards for School Food Nutrition. We know that nourishing our bodies is much more than data points and guidelines.
Our Commitment to Sustainability
Environmental Stewardship at AGC
Organic, scratch-made, nutritionally balanced and locally sourced meals highlight AGC’s innovation and commitment to sustainability and raising healthy students, while providing children with knowledge that enhances their educational experience by encouraging mindful eating. Our evolving plant-forward diet continues to reduce our carbon footprint because environmental sustainability roots AGC’s education in the natural world.
Our National Guidelines & Boundaries
The Nutrition Standards in the National School Lunch Program
The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and School Breakfast Program (SBP) address today’s nutrition concerns for students by aligning school meals with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. The nutrition standards use a food-based menu planning system that helps increase the availability and intake of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and fat free and low-fat milk, as well as reduce the intake of saturated fat, sodium, and trans fat.
The following are key points of the NSLP meal pattern. The five food components are:
- Grains
- Meat/meat alternate
- Fruits
- Vegetables
- Milk
From Our New School Food Management Company
Experience with Plant-Based Menus
Recognizing the environmental and health benefits of plant-forward diets, our new program includes the following strategies for incorporating plant-based options:
Menu Diversification
Our new SFMC will offer a variety of plant-based menu items that cater to diverse dietary preferences, including vegetarian, vegan, and allergen-free options, locally sourced where possible and using sustainable growing and production practices including integrated pest management, organic certification.
Nutritional Balance
Our plant-based menu items will be designed to provide balanced nutrition, ensuring that students receive adequate macronutrients (protein, carbohydrates, and fats) and micronutrients (vitamins and minerals).
Education and Promotion
Our new school food partners will provide materials and resources to educate students and staff about the benefits of plant-forward diets and actively promote these options through tastings, cooking demonstrations, and other engagement activities.
Plant Based Menu Examples
Our food service partner, Gourmet Gorilla has extensive experience designing menus that include plant-based menu items. They will prioritize vegetarian and vegan entrees alongside entrees that include humanely, sustainability raised animal based products in the monthly menu rotation. Some examples of potential menu items:
- Whole Grain Breakfast Black Bean Burrito
- Three Bean Chili
- Southwest Tofu Scrambler
- Cilantro Lime Bean Burrito Bowl
- Roasted Red Pepper Pasta
- Greek Tomato Lentils with Couscous
- Red and Green Pozole
- Cajun Beans and Rice
- Whole Grain Bean Quesadilla
- Homemade Black Bean Burger
Nutritional Content Tools
Highlight the nutritional gains of plant-based menu items
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Social & Emotional Learning
AGC's SEL Guiding Principles
The social curriculum is as important as the academic curriculum.
To be successful academically and socially, children need a set of social skills: cooperation, assertion, responsibility, empathy, and self-control (CARES).
Knowing the children we teach—individually, culturally, and developmentally—is as important as knowing the content we teach.
Knowing the families of the children we teach and working with them as partners is essential to children’s education.
How the adults at school work together is as important as their individual competence: Lasting change begins with the adult community.
We understand that some AGC students deal with the effects of trauma, including gun violence, exposure to addiction, food insecurity, and other poverty-related trauma. AGC will deepen its SEL programming, including forest therapy, empowering students to manage the negative impact of trauma-induced toxic stress on academic engagement and attendance.