An Innovative Program to Address Learning Barriers in Small Schools

Abstract

While all schools in Washington State have had to deal with shrinking financial resources, small, rural school districts, with fewer than 2,000 students, face unique circumstances that further challenge their ability to meet rising student health needs. This article will explore how small districts utilize the services of the Washington State School Nurse Corps (SNC), an innovative program that supports student health and safety while reducing barriers to learning. Through direct registered nursing services and regional nurse administrative consultation and technical assistance, the SNC strengthens rural school districts' capacity to provide a safe and healthy learning environment. In addition, we will examine current research that links health and learning to discover how the SNC model is successful in addressing health risks as barriers to learning. Lastly, as resources continue to dwindle, partnerships between schools, the SNC, and state and local health and education organizations will be critical in maintaining health services and learning support to small, rural schools.

Rural‐Urban Disparities in School Nursing: Implications for Continuing Education and Rural School Health

“…Even less is known about the professional and educational challenges experienced by rural school nurses. Published research on school nursing practice and education has focused primarily on urban settings with notable exceptions . Meeting the educational needs of rural health care professionals has been described as difficult.…”

Examination of Social Determinants of Health, District Health Needs, School Nurse Caseload, and Academic Outcomes in Washington State

“…Data for this cross-sectional secondary analysis were drawn from three large datasets: the WA State District Health Assessment (DHA), the WA Open Data Portal, and WA State Report Card. The DHA are aggregated reports of district level health data that are collected at the end of each academic year by the Washington State School Nurse Corps Administrators (SCNA)—school nurse administrators from each of the nine educational service areas across WA state (Fast et al, 2013). The SCNA provide professional and technical support to the school nurses and districts within their educational service area and oversee the collection of the DHA.…”