Sight for Students^® is Now

the VSP Eyes of Hope^®

The name may have changed, but the heart of this program remains the same. NASN is grateful to VSP Vision™ for VSP Eyes of Hope^® (formerly Sight for Students). The program provides school nurses with gift certificates for a no-cost eye exam and, if prescribed, new glasses that NASN members can distribute to students who qualify. The gift certificates can be redeemed at a local VSP network doctor's office.

Thanks to our partnership, more than 470,000 students have received the vision care they need to succeed in school and achieve their full potential. In total, over the last 25 years, more than 3.6 million people in need have received no-cost eye care and eyewear through VPS Eyes of Hope initiatives.

April is Stress Awareness Month. Stress can be debilitating and can cause or aggravate health problems. NASN continues to be interested in reaching out every other month in the SchoolNurseNet Healthy School Nurse community with suggested strategy snippets to support the energy and resiliency of school nurses. Check out this blog and weekly discussions for April in The Healthy School Nurse Community.

Are you a voting member? You have just one week left to vote in this year’s election. Ballots must be cast online by April 15, 2022, at midnight.

The complexity and demands of the school nurse role have significantly changed over time. While central tenets of school nursing practice are still important today, 21st-Century school nursing requires a different and continually evolving knowledge base and skillset. Given the need to maintain competence in a wide variety of knowledge and skills and the anticipated increasing complexity of the job, school nurses are seeking professional development opportunities to better their professional practices in support of student health. In this podcast, Martha Dewey Bergren, editor of The Journal of School Nursing, interviews author Brenna Morse to discuss the article, "U.S. School Nursing Job Analysis."

This section highlights news stories featuring NASN and school nurses. If you have a story about school nurses you'd like us to consider including, please send it to us.

Education Secretary Miguel Cardona wrote a letter to educators and parents/guardians regarding the new CDC recommendations and the recommendations’ impact on children with disabilities. For additional COVID-19 resources relating to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS), please visit Program Information: FAQs and Responses — Special Education & Rehabilitative Services. You can also find more COVID-19 resources on The U.S. Department of Education's Disability Rights and COVID-19 Resources for Schools, Students, and Families pages.

COVID-19 Community Levels is a new tool to help communities decide what prevention steps to take based on the latest data. Levels can be low, medium, or high. Hospital beds in use, hospital admissions, and the total number of new COVID-19 cases in an area will determine community levels. School nurses can use the map of the U.S. by county to track the community level of transmission for your school(s), which is updated weekly.

At its core, school nurse-led case management (SNLCM) involves the highest form of application of the nursing process. While the focus is on students with chronic health conditions, SNLCM can also be applied to various social, mental, and acute health concerns of individual students or the student population as a whole. This manual describes SNLCM and its benefits for students. It is intended to guide school nurses and school nurse leaders who plan to implement SNLCM to outline the key components of SNLCM, and provide program implementation and evaluation strategies and tools. Learn more and access the manual.

The CDC released new data from its Adolescent Behaviors and Experiences Survey (ABES), highlighting the magnitude of challenges our nation’s youth are facing because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Released as an MMWR Surveillance Supplement, these data are the first nationally representative look at the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on adolescent health and can be used to inform comprehensive, community-wide efforts that contribute to the well-being of youth. Of the public- and private-school high school students surveyed in 2021, CDC found that 37% reported they experienced poor mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic, 55% reported they experienced emotional abuse, and 11% reported they experienced physical abuse by a parent or caregiver. Youth who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, other, or questioning and female youth reported greater levels of poor mental health and emotional abuse by a parent or other adult in their home than their counterparts. In addition, 36% of youth reported they experienced racism in school before or during the COVID-19 pandemic. Findings also highlight the important role that school connectedness had on students during a time of severe disruption.

At a time when "school health" has taken on a new meaning, the Alliance for a Healthier Generation (Healthier Generation) wants to celebrate the remarkable efforts schools have demonstrated to prioritize the essential health needs of students, staff, and families. 

Healthier Generation is honoring schools that meet or exceed best-practice standards in one or more topic areas related to the physical, mental, and social-emotional health of students, teachers, and school staff. Schools are encouraged to shine a light on their strengths by applying for a Healthier Generation Award by April 29. All award winners will be celebrated as one of America's Healthiest Schools this fall. Visit Healthier Generation’s Award Page for details about this exciting opportunity! 

Lessons From the Field Series: Supporting Transgender and Nonbinary Students in K-12 Schools  

Please join the U.S. Department of Education and the CDC Wednesday, April 13, 2022, from 3-4:15 p.m. ET, for this webinar featuring educators and experts who will discuss challenges faced by many transgender and nonbinary students and actionable strategies for providing support. Register for the webinar.

Food Allergy Research & Education (FARE) hosts free educational webinars with leading experts discussing the food allergy topics you most want to hear about. In this Food Allergy Fundamentals Webinar series, join expert speaker and experienced clinician John M. James, MD, as he reviews everything from food allergy basics to the latest advances. The series began with Part I, Food Allergy Basics. Part II will provide a description of the overall diagnostic approach and process involved in confirming food allergies, with an exploration of allergy testing. In Part III, there will be an in-depth review and discussion on the topic of anaphylaxis and the use of epinephrine. Part IV will look at the landscape of food allergy treatment — from immunotherapies to biologic drugs. Finally, the series will close with Part V, a discussion on food allergy prevention that addresses increased food allergy prevalence and early allergen introduction. Part II: Food Allergy Diagnostics will be on May 24, 2022, from 1-2 p.m. ET. Register for the webinar.

This year the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Minority Health (OMH) and its partners are highlighting the important role individuals and organizations can play in helping to reduce health disparities and improve the health of racial and ethnic minorities. The theme for this year’s National Minority Health Month is Give Your Community a Boost! The theme focuses on the continued importance of COVID-19 vaccination, including boosters, as one of the strongest tools we can use to protect communities from COVID-19, which has disproportionately affected communities of color. Give Your Community a Boost! also supports the many other efforts happening in communities across the country to advance health equity. Download and share OMH’s National Minority Health Month toolkit for easy access to the information and links.

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