“Healthy Students = Better Learners”

The school nurse works with staff, students, and families of Battle Creek Elementary to reach the student’s best health to attain his/her greatest learning potential. It is extremely important that the nurse is alerted to any serious health conditions that affect your child so that school can partner with everyone involved to help each child to be a healthy learner.

Goals and Tasks

• The goal of the Student Wellness Department of St. Paul Public Schools, including the school nurse, is to ensure the health and safety of our students. We team together to enhance learning by helping each student to be at their greatest learning potential every day.
• The nurse helps students and families to identify any health problems, then manage any health concerns. Students are assisted to learn independence and self-management of any health concerns so that they can be as successful as possible in school.
• The school nurse’s focus is to keep students in school and in class.
• The school nurse helps any students with a chronic health condition (such as asthma, diabetes, etc.) learn how to manage that condition so they can be as healthy as possible.
• The school nurse also helps students to manage minor illnesses, such as headaches or stomach aches, so that they can be in class as much as possible.
• The nurse encourages students to provide self-care for minor cuts and scrapes using soap and water.
• The nurse also teaches the importance of healthy behaviors, such as getting enough sleep each night, and eating a healthy breakfast to start the day.
• The nurse encourages healthy practices, such as good hand washing to decrease illness.
• The nurse does annual vision & hearing screening on the kindergarten and first grade students, and vision screening on 5th graders.
• The nurse provides medication administration & management to students who have a Doctor’s orders for administration of medication at school. This must be renewed every year, along with a signature of parent permission to give any medication at school.
• The nurse provides education and in-service training to staff as needed in regards to medical issues in our school.
• The nurse tracks immunizations and ensures that all students attending Battle Creek are in compliance with the state immunization laws.