Health and Student Services ESP —  Building a Quality Workforce

The National Nurse Shortage — A Crisis for Public Schools

"I would not encourage anyone to become a school health professional now. Support, personnel, salary, and training are all but ignored by our school boards more than ever before," said Jayketa Shingleton, head nurse for Atlanta Public Schools. The Trenton Times, April 30, 2001

This quote pinpoints a growing problem for our public school districts. A severe shortage of health care professionals is dramatically affecting hospitals, nursing homes, medical care facilities and public schools all across the country, and across a broad spectrum of job categories. The National Association of School Nurses recommends a ratio of 1 health and student services professional per 750 students. A University of Iowa survey published in the fall of 2000 found the average ratio to be twice that.

Two failures by school boards contribute to the shortages. The first is low and noncompetitive pay, and the second is a lack of under-standing that health care for student populations directly affects student achievement. Many Health & Student Services ESP report that school boards are slow to use education money for salaries of people they consider mere Bandaid and aspirin suppliers. "People are clamoring for test scores to go up, so that's where the resources go," said Brenda Z. Greene, director of School Health Programs for the National School Boards Association.

According to an NEA member survey, Health & Student Services ESP are the third lowest paid of the nine ESP job families. Their salaries are generally far lower than private sector health professionals doing comparable work. Public schools cannot compete with the private sector for the few health professionals entering the field or in the resource pool to begin with.

According to the same study, Health & Student Services ESP remain the shortest number of years with one school district employer. Some of the reasons cited by these employees for rapid employment turnover are low pay, burnout, lack of support from administrations, parents and communities, and lack of meaningful training and professional development. Health & Student Services ESP have experienced dramatic increases in their workloads and responsibilities in recent years, with no commensurate pay or recognition.

In the face of personnel shortages, school boards sometimes simply change the criteria in order to meet state mandates, rather than raise salaries and/or provide better professional support and training. For example, in 2000, the NJ State Board of Education considered rules that would have allowed school districts to supplement the certified school nurse's services with non-certified nurses when the non-certified person is assigned to the same school building or "school complex" as the certified school nurse.

When health professionals are in short supply in the public school environment, student achievement suffers. The key to ending shortages lies in school boards recognizing the need to increase salaries and reduce workloads for health care professionals. Around the country, health professional groups and PTAs are teaming up to lobby school boards in order to create recognition of the connection between what Health & Student Services ESP do every day and enhanced student achievement. It is not "rocket science" to understand that unhealthy children cannot learn!

To Section 4: Health & Student Services ESP and the 21st Century Family