School Health in a Post-Pandemic K12
Remember the days of 6 feet apart at all times? Our mitigation strategies (and our ability to scale them up and down) are critical in this post-pandemic era
What comes to mind when you read the phrase “school health?” When I ask this question, I find that many adults have an outdated view of school health. Usually, their vision includes a sparsely decorated school nurse’s office, where they give out ice packs or call your parents to pick you up due to a stomach ache. Here’s the thing - School Health is SO much bigger than that, and thank goodness it is. Side note: we also were probably too young to fully appreciate all the school nurse did for us, though I probably could have done without the endless baking soda and water “tincture.” Wait, maybe she was using that to persuade me that her office wasn’t any better than class. Mind blown!
According to The American School Health Association, “ School Health is the comprehensive efforts of developing, implementing, and evaluating services, both within the school and the community, that provide each and every student with the resources needed to thrive within a healthful environment. Both the physical and mental health of your students and how that manifests in academics, behaviors, and the overall community of your school.”
Yes - they said academics, and so do I. Anecdotally, I know that I work better when I’ve eaten breakfast and don’t have a migraine. And the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has all the data that shows that kids have a hard time learning if they aren’t healthy. Or, said more eloquently, “Healthy students are better learners, and academic achievement bears a lifetime of benefits for health.” We need to revitalize the idea of School Health being contained to the small nurse’s office in the corner. It’s the literal lifeblood (pun fully intended!) of your school, and you can leverage it to benefit both your student’s academic performance and overall experience while in your halls.
We live in an age with the most diverse and complex groups of students we have EVER seen in K-12. Gone are the days when my grandmother was the music teacher of a residential school for students with epilepsy. Yet, many of our school health programs are still operating off of a 1950s system that no longer serves the needs of our current students. So, what does this mean for educators? I find that, like so many issues in K-12, we can start to unpack this simply by asking the question, “What do my students need?” Or as I like to call it, how can I identify, build and implement the student-centered solutions.
So, what do student-centered solutions look like in a modern-day school health program? Frankly, they will (and should) look different for every school. They should reflect your local community and student body and will vary regionally and even locally depending on the surrounding neighborhood and student makeup. If you aren’t already familiar with and using the CDC’s Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child (WSCC) Model, you should start now. It’s a framework for schools to put the student needs at the center of policy and program planning and wrap the community’s resources around the students to impact their lives and academic successes positively.
I suggest there are a few areas of focus that will apply to everyone. Keep in mind this is not an inclusive list but a starting point for meeting the needs of your students.
Students of color and varying socioeconomic backgrounds.
This one should come as no surprise. We KNOW that the current K-12 system is not fully serving our students from historically marginalized populations. The same is true for school health programs. Intentional communication is essential here. When are the parents/guardians most available to discuss their student’s health? Where is it easiest for them to get their students updated on immunizations or be seen by a provider? The key here is to make it easy and build relationships! Host pop-up clinics at the school, establish a School-Based Health Clinic, and have information on community resources readily available. More importantly, invest in relationship-building with your school’s families. Partner with them to meet student health goals and ensure your students receive adequate care.
Inclusion
Did you know that students with disabilities used to attend entirely separate schools? It wasn’t until 1975, with the passing of the IDEA, that we started actively including students with disabilities in mainstream classrooms. On the whole, this program is hugely beneficial. But including students with disabilities in the classroom is only genuinely successful paired with the support needed to ensure success for both the student and the teacher! IEPs,504s, and other individualized health plans are essential supports for students with complex needs. During the pandemic, many of the checkpoints for these plans fell by the wayside, leaving students without the necessary resources to succeed. These tools are an essential part of the puzzle for students with complex needs, and we will likely see an uptick in them as students return to school with long-COVID and other health-related conditions exacerbated by the pandemic. Educators can take an active role in the creation and maintenance of these plans by attending all related meetings and reaching out to the nurse and other coordinators with questions. Inclusion is a meaningful and essential part of K-12 education, but it’s only successful when done intentionally and with the appropriate support.
Role of the School Nurse
Your school nurse is a superhero. They see more patients in an average day, with a greater variety of cases than most hospitalists or clinic nurses. When you partner with your school nurse, they can provide essential insight and tricks for supporting student health and reaching families. They are your secret weapon, ace in the hole, and greatest asset in talking student health. But, in order to be effective, they need to be included in the conversation! Have them attend IEP meetings (with time to prepare), ask for their input when creating new initiatives for student health, and let them help with outreach. Whenever possible - let them in on the dialogue!
Where does COVID-19 fit?
You’ll notice I said “post-pandemic” at the beginning of this blog, not “post-COVID.” COVID-19 is not gone. It’s with us for the long haul, and we will see dips and spikes in schools for the foreseeable future. However, right-sizing COVID-19 will allow you to take those spikes in stride. Maintain your outbreak plans, have tests on standby, and know how to scale up/down your mitigation strategies as needed. And, by the way, this goes for all other communicable diseases as well!
Use Your Community.
This means two things.
(1) What resources are available in your local community to support student’s health? Are there providers that hold weekend clinics? What supports exist for free mental health or sexual health for students? Take a deep dive into your community, focusing on what is already available for your students. Then, take the extra step to ensure your students and their families know them!
(2) Don’t reinvent the wheel! Use your community of educators to see what has worked for other schools, and look into best practices - in short, use your network! Educators are among some of the most adaptable groups I know - and chances are another school has tackled the exact problems you face. Use your community to make solutions more accessible and leave yourself more time to focus on your students.
We’re entering into a whole new world of School Health. Our students no longer fit the 1950s model (and frankly, that model kept so many students out). It’s time to create school health programs that reflect partnership with families, the community, and students. Will it be easy - probably not. Will it be worth it - absolutely. When your students are healthy, the academics will come, and they can thrive.