School Nurse Role

The certified school nurse addresses the physical, mental, emotional, and social health of our students. Our goal is supporting student success in learning. Our certified school nurses have specialized training – each is a Registered Nurse (RN) with a minimum of a bachelor's degree in nursing and a post bachelor’s state certification in school nursing.

What does a certified school nurse do? Every year we conduct height, weight, blood pressure, vision, hearing, and scoliosis screening of our students, and notify parents and guardians of any abnormalities found.

In addition, the certified school nurses promote and maintain optimal student health by:

• Providing first aid and assistance to a child who becomes ill or injured at school

• Communicating with parents and guardians when further medical care or attention may be needed, and making referrals as appropriate

• Supporting the health curriculum by teaching health lessons to students and/or serving as a resource to classroom teachers

• Educating the school staff about health matters that affect students and/or staff

• Collaborating with other school professionals, parents/guardians and the student's health care team, as needed, to foster maximal student success

• Providing health counseling to students as needed on an ongoing basis

The school nurses work closely with the staff to address a child’s social- emotional as well as physical health needs. If a child complains of a headache or stomach ache that seems to be caused by worry, stress or another emotional cause, the school nurse may refer the student to the appropriate staff.