Many health-related challenges that can get in the way of learning are now top of mind for educators across the country as they welcome students back for a new school year.
Poor health—whether physical or mental—leads to absenteeism and students who can’t fully engage in the classroom even if they are in their seats. The number of students chronically absent from school, generally defined as missing 10% or more of school, surged during the pandemic and remains elevated.
That’s why it’s important for schools to be aware of the latest developments that could affect students’ health, said Lynn Nelson, the president of the National Association of School Nurses.
Nelson, who is also the senior director for student health services and support for the Capital Region ESD 113 school system in Tumwater, Wash., shared with Education Week strategies for schools to keep students healthy.
This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
What are the student health-related issues that are top of mind for you heading into the school year?
The two overarching issues for sure are communicable diseases, things like COVID and influenza, and even the common cold, because it impacts absenteeism so greatly, [and] then the other one, which also impacts absenteeism, is the behavioral and mental health issues that really expanded during and post COVID. That often leads directly to school absenteeism, whether it’s anxiety or depression, emerging mental health kinds of disorders.
The other thing that flows from communicable diseases and some of the climate issues we’re facing now is asthma. Managing that in schools also impacts absenteeism, so that’s everything [from] controlling common colds in schools, to smoke-induced [asthma symptoms]—where I live we have a wildfire season—to mold-induced [asthma symptoms] if we don’t have updated HVAC equipment.
And then everybody’s worried about measles. I’m worried about a lot of different communicable diseases because as people lose trust in the vaccine process, they lose trust in all vaccines.
What do you recommend schools do to keep kids healthy?
Focus on teaching, especially young children, the basics of health hygiene: washing their hands, covering their cough, sneezing into their elbow, those sorts of things. That goes a long way. And then the school environment things: are we cleaning well enough every night? Are our HVAC systems up to date and our filters changed?
In terms of vaccines, it’s identifying those students, especially those new incoming classes every year, whether they’re in kindergarten, 1st grade, or even preschool, who [are] not in compliance with vaccines. And reaching out to those parents individually with resources and information. Not just: “your kid’s out of compliance,” but with good solid information and resources, and address their concerns [about vaccines].
What do you wish schools were doing more in relation to students’ mental health?
Telehealth. Arming their school counselors, who are not always mental health counselors, with the systems they need to get the students who need that individual level of assessment and counseling to those resources. In urban areas, that might be a school-based health center or a clinic they have a partnership with.
In our more rural areas or under-resourced urban areas, telehealth has really made great strides and it’s just a matter of connecting. I say that like it’s simple, it’s not. But it’s a resource we didn’t have in the past, and where it works, it works really well.
