By Sheila Caldwell, BSN, RN, CSN-NJ
Did you ever think of work as a dance? Dancing your way to life experiences that allow you to flourish and be free to be you? This is the shift that the fellowship is affording me, the opportunity to be me and share my passions, thoughts, experiences, and expertise as they relate to education and health. An educational dance production that craved the input from a different perspective—health and the voice and expertise of a school nurse.
We know, in light of the pandemic, health and health initiatives have been brought to the forefront in all industries, especially in education. But this is nothing new. In 1993, our 15th U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. Jocelyn Elders, voiced in the national platform, “You can’t educate a child who isn’t healthy, and you can’t keep a child healthy who isn’t educated.”
The term Coordinated School Health Model was coined by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC). The CDC forged a partnership with the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) in 2014 to create the “Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child” Model. This model led to a greater focus on this approach to health.
It all made perfect sense. The connection of health and education go hand-in-hand. I have been able to speak in a holistic manner about how these two factors that cannot stand alone in the educational world. The staff of NEA understand this connection and have put it on various dance floors to “freestyle” in my area of expertise.
Similar to traditional school settings, there is a period of “shutdown” of the NEA over the holiday breaktime. This is the period of time where staff “recharge” because after the new year begins many programs and projects need intensive attention. The work builds and there are important deadlines that need everyone’s full everyone. The well-needed break allows for all to jump in to the “dance productions” with fresh view of all the work ahead. I mention this to let you know that everyone needs time for self, family, and just time away. I hope that you were able to do so as well.
Back to the dance! We have been extremely busy as NEA is updating its strategic plan and organizational structures. In addition, the two major events hosted by NEA are fast approaching. These events are the “Leadership Summit” and the “ESP Conference.” These events are open to any NEA members to submit proposals to present, as well as to attend. Both of these events are being held in March. I have been one of the individuals tasked to work on the logistics as well as acceptance and review of the requests for proposals (RFPs). Part of my work before the holidays that continued, was to review RFPs and make sure they meet the specified criteria. I also worked with a number of the presenters to ensure their actual presentation content was “presentation ready.”
This is not the only work. There have been on-going health and safety concerns that were necessary to address along with working directly with nurses around the country for “on the ground” matters in schools.
From some of those interactions, you may have seen the recent article, “School Nurses: We’re not OK.” School nurses voiced their true feelings about the state of their roles in schools at this time. The pandemic has truly increased the workload for nurses in schools as well for all other educators. In addition, there are so many different dynamics that are systemically based that need to be addressed in schools. The pandemic just shed light to them. We know moving forward there will need to be a lot of effort and work to make improvements and attain equity in these areas. Concerning school nurses, the work was increased exponentially as the health and safety needs increased and the nurses interviewed expressed this well in this article.
Another area of my work focused on preparing a presentation for the January NEA ESP Webinar Series. The title of my presentation was “Our Bodies: Are We Paying Attention to the Signals.” This presentation focused on our lifestyles, environment, and bodies and how the many complex drivers in our life can be at the root of our physical and mental health. Also shared were some resources. You can find the recording of this webinar here. This presentation was well received by attendees, and I was pleased to pass on the information to our NEA family.
So, the dance continues…
“I’ve still got steps to learn and many new turns.” – Unknown Author
Sheila Caldwell, BSN, RN, CSN-NJ
Sheila Caldwell is a certified school nurse in the Matawan Aberdeen Regional School District. She is on leave to participate in the SISP Fellowship described in this article. In addition to receiving numerous national and local awards, Caldwell has received the American Academy of Pediatrics-NJ Chapter School Health Advocate of Year (2016) and the 2021 National Association of School Nurses (NASN) Recognition Award for “continued support and unique contributions to NASN and school nursing.”
Caldwell can be reached at SCaldwell@nea.org.