In this week’s Saturday Six, we give a special shout-out to our fantastic school nurses!  All across KCS, our health professionals do so much to care for our students and staff, while addressing urgent needs and also promoting healthy lifestyles.  This Wednesday was National School Nurse Day, an opportunity to say “Thank you!” to the staff that gives so much so that we can stay healthy:

• Suzanne Folkner, Adams School Nurse
• Carla Testerman, Jackson School Nurse
• Laura Jennings, Jefferson School Nurse
• Michelle Olinger, Jefferson Health Assistant
• Allison Shuppert, Johnson School Nurse
• Melinda Combest, Johnson Health Assistant
• Angie Lundy, Kennedy School Nurse
• Brandy Steffey, Lincoln School Nurse
• Cheryl Weston, Roosevelt School Nurse
• Angie Fowler,  Roosevelt Health Assistant
• Renee Blevins, Washington School Nurse
• Traci Bowen, RNR School Nurse
• Lorraine Chastain, RNR Health Assistant
• Joni Murphy, Sevier School Nurse
• Melissa Caldwell, D-B School Nurse
• Audra Bevins, D-B Health Assistant
• Crystal Hood, D-B EXCEL/Cora Cox Academy Health Assistant
• Tracy Dayton, Palmer Health Assistant
• Jana Messer, Palmer Health Assistant
• Susan Ausband, System-Wide School Nurse
• Vicki Johnston, KCS Nursing Supervisor

Did you know there are six key ways that school nurses can benefit the school culture?

1. Student Health – Identifying and treating accidents and injuries, managing students with chronic conditions such as diabetes and seizures to allow them to stay in class, significantly decreasing the amount of days missed due to asthma (a leading cause of school absenteeism), and counseling students about physical and emotional issues.
2. Student Attendance – School nurses improve attendance through health promotion, disease prevention and disease management.  Studies show that students with a full-time school nurse have about half the student illness- or injury-related early releases from school than where no school nurse is present.
3. Improved Academics – Improved attendance means a healthy student is in the classroom and ready to learn. School Nurses enable better performance, which also contributes to reducing drop-out rates.
4. Time – School nurses save time for principals, teachers and staff.  A school nurse in the building saves principals, teachers, and staff a considerable amount of time that they would have spent addressing health concerns of students.
5. Staff Wellness – School nurses improve the general health of staff.  According to studies, principals, teachers, and clerical staff are very satisfied with having school nurses in their schools so that teachers can focus on teaching, staff can spend less time calling parents and sending students home, and also because a healthy staff means increased attendance and productivity.
6. Accountability – School nurses help schools stay accountable by promoting compliance with federal and state laws, and by preparing for emergencies in order to saves lives and property.

Thank you to our awesome KCS health professionals!

DON’T FORGET!  The Saturday Six will be live-blogging from the D-B graduation next Saturday morning.  “Tune in” to WeAreKCS.com and the KCS social media feeds starting at 8:30 a.m. for a behind the scenes look at the graduation celebration.  It should be fun!