The North Carolina General Assembly has just released its plan for school safety funding in the 2018-19 state budget. The legislature will send $10 million to schools in “Personnel Block Grants,” to be used for nurses, social workers, psychologists, or other professionals. It will be up to local districts to allocate that money according to […]
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State to overhaul formula for funding school nurses
RALEIGH, N.C. — The state is poised to make changes in how it pays for school nurses. The Joint Legislative Program Evaluation Oversight Committee voted Monday to ask state school and health officials to overhaul the funding formula, which has been based for years on a per-student ratio. Low-income and rural school districts say that […]
Teachers Rally Includes Plea for School Nurses, Social Workers, Counselors
Walking through the crowd of educators at the teachers rally outside the legislature Wednesday and holding up a sign that read, “Looking for a school nurse,” prompted a lot of shouted responses: “So are we!” “You got one?” “Only on Tuesdays and Thursdays.” “You’re looking for a unicorn.”
Nurses discuss how they contribute to school safety during School Safety Committee meeting
School safety and student mental health were the main topics discussed at the House Select Committee on School Safety meeting at the legislative office building in Raleigh on Monday. The committee, made up of lawmakers, was formed in response to the massacre in Parkland, Florida. Members have been discussing ways to make schools in North […]
Recent Announcement
Concerned about the health and safety of students in our Guilford County Schools? Join the conversation about how school nurses positively impact the mental health and physical health of our students.
NC is in desperate need of school nurses. Will it foot the $45 million to $79 million bill for more?
There are so few nurses in North Carolina’s public schools that a new state report says it could cost an additional $45 million to $79 million a year to help meet student health needs. There’s one school nurse for every 1,086 students, according to a state legislative staff report, meaning the majority of student medical […]
Recent Announcement
Winter 2018 Update! Please see the newly added Reports to our Resources Page. There you will find a report, authorized by the NC General Assembly, describing policy issues likely to be important for those who work on behalf of children and their education in our public schools. As well as two reports from Project ONE, […]
Stretched Too Thin
Amy Widderich is a woman in near constant motion. Whether it’s walking a queasy child from a classroom, taking a temperature or dispensing hugs and encouragement to anxious kids, Widderich, the nurse at Grove Park Elementary School in Burlington, rarely gets to complete a sentence before she’s interrupted by a child, or a teacher, or […]
Poverty, Health Have an Impact on Learning
Kudos to the News & Record for running articles devoted to the well-being of children, our greatest resource. The recent coverage included an excellent piece describing the League of Women Voters’ forum on poverty and academic achievement. Earlier commentary addressed training that school nurses will need for the growing problem of opioid addiction, an important […]
As Student Medical Needs Mount, School Nurses in Short Supply
North Carolina has 115 school systems, but, according to school system data, just five of those systems have a nurse dedicated to every school, which works out to one nurse for every 1,086 students. With more and more children needing help with complex medical issues, that ratio can have consequences for school staff and students. […]