A USD 383 nurse says the district needs more social workers to help students with mental health concerns.
Mindi Sturm, the school nurse at Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson elementary schools, told the Manhattan-Ogden school board on Wednesday that district nurses had approximately 91,000 student visits during the 2023-24 school year. Many of those visits were mental health-related, as a shortage of school social workers means those visits fall on nurses.
“There are great social workers in the school, but we need social workers on roller skates,” Sturm said. “There’s just not enough, so that overflow is coming to us. I think that’s part of why, aside from seeing that increase in the number of health conditions, which we’re seeing an increase of as well, we’re seeing more students.”
Sturm said even at the smaller schools where she works, students make 6,000-7,000 nurse visits per year, which is an increase.
“Some of those are health conditions, but some of those are mental health,” she said.
A grant from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment made it possible for the district to provide free COVID-19 and flu tests, and the district will have access to it again in 2024-25. Sturm said this helped low-income families who could not afford to get these tests at a doctor’s office.
“One of those things we do with that grant money is that we hired a float nurse,” she said. “Let me tell you, that float nurse was invaluable. Sometimes, I would be covering three or four schools at one time. There were nurses who were doing that. That did happen occasionally this year, but the number of times that happened drastically dipped because we had a float nurse.”
Sturm said the float nurse went wherever the schools needed them to fill in where there wasn’t a nurse available. They have also been interviewing for a substitute nurse, since one is going on maternity leave and another is only available a few times a week.
“We’re very grateful that we have that grant again for one more school year, and so we’re hoping to hire a new float nurse for that,” Sturm said. “The main thing that we see the biggest need for is we really don’t have any nurse substitutes.”
USD 383 teachers, nurse recognized
Also on Wednesday, the school board recognized a handful of district employees who won awards for their work.
Eisenhower Middle School STEM teacher Chelsea Davis took home this year’s Kansas Society of Professional Engineer’s Outstanding Middle School Teacher of the Year Award.
The Tri-Valley Chapter of Kansas Society of Professional Engineers nominated Davis for the award in 2024.
“The award selection includes creative and innovative teaching techniques, activities or projects to increase student interest in engineering, science or math; active involvement in events like Math Counts, Future Cities, etc.; active involvement in teaching associations and organizations; and good rapport with students,” Superintendent Eric Reid said.
Angela Bird, a school nurse from Manhattan High School, became the first USD 383 employee the Kansas School Nurse of the Year award. The Kansas School Nurse Organization sponsors the award, which recognizes exceptional dedication and service in the field of school nursing.
According to Reid, one of Bird’s nominators wrote: ‘“A school nurse is sometimes the one who brings the best qualities out of work daily. They’re positive, caring and hard-working to advocate for student health. Angela’s this type of nurse. Angela’s an excellent nurse and puts her energy into caring individually for each student who comes into her office. She is loved by her staff, her students and her nursing colleagues.”’
Bird will receive her award at the Kansas School Nurse Conference in Wichita in July.
“I was very happy to nominate her,” Sturm said. “You guys have excellent nurses working in your district, and she’s just an example of what you have.”
MHS athletic director Mike Marsh received the 2024 Flint Hills Speech and Debate Association Administrator of the Year Award.
“Mike is always the first one in and the last one out for any and all events,” Reid said, reading from Marsh’s nomination packet. “He believes in empowering all students and invests in activities that do just that. He isn’t one to waste time; he is a man of action.”
MHS grad awarded NEA scholarship
MHS counselor Dustin Duntz told the school board on Wednesday that MHS graduate Macey Pecenka won a $500 scholarship from the National Education Association.
The scholarship goes to a graduating senior from the district who is planning to go into education. Pecenka will study speech pathology next year.
Additionally, Duntz said counselors are busy with schedules, making sure next year’s students are working towards their graduation requirements.
“Counselors across the street have been working for the last two weeks to make schedules for each student for next year, checking that they have the prerequisites for the classes that they’ve requested,” Duntz said.
