RPS Wellness Committee Gives Update to School Committee

At the most recent Revere Public School Committee meeting late last month, RPS Athletic Director Frank Shea gave committee members an update on the district’s Wellness Committee.

“There are a couple of big rocks that we’re trying to get through this year and the first one is our Wellness Committee policy review,” said Shea. “This was set to be done last year in the spring. However, when COVID struck the state granted us some leniency, and allowed us to take on that work this year. So we are just starting to review our wellness policy which is a 12 page document. It is revised once every three years.”

Shea said the policy review will consist of Wellness Committee members reviewing the committee’s policy and proposing any changes to either personnel on the committee, or to some of the policies that are associated with wellness, nutrition, physical activity and anything else that promotes student wellness in the district.

“We just started meeting and we’ll continue this work with some chunks of time going forward,” said Shea. “As we get towards the springtime any revisions or omissions to the policy will be presented to the entire committee and the changes will be put into a policy draft, and presented to the superintendent’s office and then to the school committee. When these revisions are accepted and updated they’ll be shared on our district website and they will promote our work going forward into next year.”

Shea another big task the Wellness Committee is tackling is its subcommittee work.

“We had just begun to start working in subcommittees when, again, we got struck by COVID,” said Shea. “But Mrs. (Stacey) Rizzo asked that we continue this work which is very important to our committee going forward. All of our (Wellness Committee) members serve on one of the four subcommittees. These committees spend a bit of time in each monthly meeting to discuss what we can add and what we can strengthen what we need to change. Obviously, as we go forward, and as COVID continues, we’ve come across some different areas of concern in the city and areas where we think we can make a change. And again, those changes will go into the overall Wellness Committee’s updated policy if applicable.”

Shea said the subcommittees and the topics the subcommittees discuss can change from any given year.

“Last year the focus was on nutrition, mental health, physical activity and substance abuse,” said Shea. “We first asked each committee member which subcommittee they feel comfortable joining and then we go out and we try to pick some people who have expertise in those fields and add them to the subcommittees.”

School Committee member Stacey Rizzo commended Shea and the Wellness Committee for the work they have been doing.

“I just need to say when Frank (Shea) came on board he really formed this committee so that it was doing work, not just in words, but actually work,” said Rizzo. “I also want to thank Cheryl Cole who really put a wellness policy together at the beginning so that we have something to go by and we can update it much more easily. The members that have been coming for almost eight years and the work that they’ve all done is really getting us to a great place for our students in the community. I thought it was a great idea that Frank decided to add some people that really have knowledge because it really does shape the whole committee with information, knowledge and experience.”

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