This notice is to inform all school administrators, school nurses and related staff of a new effort to collect and submit de-identified student health data to a nationwide initiative of National Association of School Nurses (NASN) entitled Every Student Counts™. The goals of Every Student Counts™ are to develop a robust national school health data set that will influence local, state, and national student health policy, as well as identify best practices in school health. By creating data driven policies to advocate for the needs of students, we can increase evidence-based school nursing practice, and improve youth health outcomes.
In order for this to be successful at a statewide and national level, we are asking school administrators to commit to this ongoing effort and;
- Select one point person in the school unit to be responsible for compiling and submitting the data from all schools to submit one report in June for each school administrative unit.
- Share this notice with their school nurses and other health staff.
This data collection will be included with the School Health Annual Report that is submitted at the end of each school year. Although these added questions are not required, we strongly recommend every school unit participate. The data points, not covered in any other state or national survey, are:
- Staffing levels for health services (direct services, supplemental staff, special assignments, supervisory position provided by RN, LPN, and health aides)
- Number of students with a diagnosis (from a health care provider) of asthma, type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes, seizure disorder, life threatening allergy
- Health office visits & disposition (number of students seen face to face by RN, LPN, health aide and resulting disposition: return to class, sent home, or 911 call)
The Department is in full support of the NASN Every Student Counts™ initiative. The Maine Association of School Nurses will be working with the Maine DOE School Nurse Consultant to promote the collection of this data statewide.
If you have questions about Every Student Counts™, please contact Emily Poland, RN, School Nurse Consultant at Emily.Poland@Maine.gov or 207-624-6688, or visit the Every Student Counts™ Website.