District Administration - November 2008 - (Page 22)

Briefings NewsUpdate Teacher’s Orders: “Open Your Mouth and Say ‘Ah’”? now May not Be a good tiMe to get sick if you’re a kid. as districts across the country face nurse shortages— and spread thin the nurses they do have across multiple schools—many are turning to an unsettling line of defense to provide care for students: teachers. not only teachers but an increasing number of nurse’s aides, teacher’s aides and secretaries are carrying out the duties typically reserved for school nurses, and they’re having to do a lot more than just dole out aspirin or clean scraped knees. Registered nurse Lynn Lanham (center) “it really boils down to two things,” helps Melissa Barber, an instructional says lynn lanham, a school nurse at assistant, feed a student with a tube at Bush Elementary School in Salem, Ore. salem-Keizer (ore.) Public schools. “schools do not pay as AverAge StudentS per School nurSe much as hospitals, and we are seeing a growing population of Best States Worst States medically fragile children.” Vermont (298) Utah (5,539) in a recent nationwide surNew Hampshire (376) Michigan (4,274) vey of more than 600 school Washington, D.C. (434) North Dakota (3,888) nurses by the University of Source: National Association of School Nurses iowa, 75 percent said unlinasn executive director amy garcensed faculty and staff administer medications to students at their cia says 25 percent of U.s. schools have no schools, and the change comes at a time nurse at all, but there are wide disparities when more students are dealing with seri- in staffing and care throughout different ous medical conditions such as diabetes, regions of the country. Regardless of who is administering cerebral palsy and bipolar disorder. The national association of school the care, experts agree that the increase nurses (nasn) cites an “explosion” of in chronic conditions and number of stuasthma, obesity, and exposure to violence dents without health insurance is giving and weapons. nasn officials add that way to school medical procedures that across the board there is a rising need for include insulin injections, tube feedings and even catheterizations. mental health services. garcia says that if there is a national federal guidelines recommend that schools employ one nurse for every 750 shortage of school nurses, it’s more a students, but nasn says the current av- shortage of funded positions. “nurses love kids, and many yearn to erage is closer to one nurse per 1,100 students, and even the recommended ratio be in school environments,” she says, but in many places the funding “isn’t there.” assumes that students are healthy. “This is largely a decision made at the some states such as oregon are not required by law to have a nurse in every local level by administrators,” says garcia, school, but lay school employees are re- “and there must be more engagement.” “Public awareness is key,” says lanquired to complete a one-hour class to administer care to a sick child, dispense ham. in today’s times, she says, “nurses should be a priority.” medication or evaluate symptoms. District Administration Rising Pressure Many of today’s high school students say that the pressure to get good grades is creating a problem for them and that there is too much pressure to act as adults, according to a recent study by the horatio alger association of distinguished americans, a nonprofit educational group. although the annual report, State of Our Nation’s Youth, finds 80 percent of high schoolers reporting stress-related problems, their actual grades have consistently remained on average in the B range since 2001. nearly 40 percent of students report not being able “to just be teenagers,” but the majority would use the word “confident” to describe themselves and consider themselves optimists. YA Sign We Like As part of a series of initiatives spearheaded by the Environmental Sustainability PTO committee at Katonah Elementary School in Katonah, N.Y., students and their parents are being encouraged to decline car rides to school in favor of more environmentally conscious modes of transportation. “We’re really trying to promote student awareness about sustainability issues that exist all around us,” says principal Jonathan Kaplan. 22 November 2008

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of District Administration - November 2008

District Administration - November 2008
School Breakfasts: An Added Value
Contents
Editor’s Letter
Letters
1-2-3 Campus Safety
News Update
Administrator Profile
District Profile
Snacks as Part of Your School Nutrition Program
Technology
Facilities & Construction
Admissions
DA Web Seminars
Leadership Assessment
How Well Does This Web Site Work?
New Products
Technology Books
Professional Opinion
Supervisor’s Opinion
Crisis Response
Problem Solution
Research Center

District Administration - November 2008