Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Forward
Addressing Chronic Absenteeism: School Nurses Leading for Change (CSHS Session One)
School nurses play a critical role in addressing chronic absenteeism. Per the NASN Position Statement, “As professionals who bridge education and health, school nurses are vital school team members in supporting student attendance and addressing chronic absenteeism.” They are uniquely positioned to identify and address issues that create barriers for students to attend school. These issues include physical and mental health issues and concerns related to the social determinants of health such as homelessness, poverty, and systematic racism.
This course will provide data, resources, and tools school nurses can use to identify and address chronic absenteeism in their schools and districts. During this course, we will discuss:
- Chronic absenteeism: how it is defined, who is chronically absent, barriers for attendance, key physical and mental health issues that affect attendance, and how poverty as a social determinant of health (SDoH) influences absenteeism.
- The role of the school nurse in addressing chronic absenteeism
- Systems and tools to collect, monitor, and report absenteeism data
- Models and quality improvement strategies school nurses can apply to address absenteeism through an equity lens.
- Making the case for school nurses to be included as key members of administrative teams that are addressing absenteeism at the school and district level.
Presentations, case examples, and small and large group discussions will be used to identify and share promising approaches. Communication tools will include Padlet to post quality improvement project strategies and experiences. Sessions will be recorded and clips may be used in a brief video that describes the unique role of school nurses in addressing absenteeism.
This course aligns directly with the CSHS grant scope of services. Learners will apply training and tools to meet CSHS grant requirements to assess and address chronic absenteeism. Work completed in this course (all four sessions) can be applied directly to meet CSHS grant requirements.
At the end of these four sessions, the learner will be able to:
- Describe the problem of chronic absenteeism, its long-term consequences for student achievement, and the role of the school nurse in reducing absenteeism
- Describe the consequences of poverty on the physical, mental, and behavioral health of school-aged children and how poverty affects students' abilities to learn and be in school.
- Evaluate how promising strategies designed to reduce chronic absenteeism might be applied to school nursing practice
- Design and implement a nurse-led strategy to identify, monitor, and address chronic absenteeism using an equity lens.
- Make the case that school nurses are uniquely skilled and essential partners in addressing the national concern of chronic absenteeism
- Advocate for including school nurses in strategic administrative teams that are addressing absenteeism at a policy level
Target Audience
CSHS grantees, and school health professionals interested in this topic.
Note: While programming for CSHS meetings is developed with the grantee scope of service and performance measures in mind, any school health professional may benefit from topics covered, and guiding principles for continuous quality improvement (CQI) projects described within the grant framework are applicable to any district or school.
Learning Objectives
At the end of this activity, the learner or the healthcare team should be able to:
- Describe the problem of chronic absenteeism and its long-term consequences for student achievement.
- Apply best/promising practice examples to identify one or more ways that school nurses can collaborate with their education teams to reduce absenteeism.
- Describe what sets students up for success and how the social determinant of health, poverty, impacts student health, contributes to chronic absenteeism, and affects long-term academic achievement.
- Using an equity lens, identify one or more foundational and universal nurse-led strategies to address health-related barriers to school attendance.
Details coming soon
Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine asks all individuals involved in the development and presentation of Accredited Continuing Education activities to disclose all financial relationships with ineligible companies. This information is disclosed to all activity participants prior to the start of the educational activity. Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine has procedures to mitigate all relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies. In addition, faculty members are asked to disclose when any unapproved use of pharmaceuticals and devices is being discussed.
In accordance with the Standards for Integrity and Independence in Accredited Continuing Education, all relevant financial relationships that faculty, planners, authors, and anyone who may be in control of content have with ineligible companies have been mitigated.
None of the speakers or planners or anyone in control of content for this accredited continuing educational activity have any relevant financial relationships since the content does not relate to any products or services of an ACCME-defined ineligible company; therefore, there are no relevant financial relationships to disclose or mitigate
Faculty
Felicity Crawford, Ed.D.
Faculty, Speaker, Planner
Clinical Associate Professor of Special Education in the Teacher of Students with Moderate Disabilities Program
Patricia Elliott, DrPH
Faculty/Speaker
Advisor and Clinical Associate Professor
Boston University School of Public Health
Beverly Heinze-Lacey, MPH,BSN, RN
Nurse Planner
Director, BU SHIELD
Erin Sivak, MSN, BSN, RN
Nurse Educator/Reviewer
Assistant Director, BU SHIELD
Karen Robitaille, MBA, MSN, RN, NCSN
Speaker, Reviewer
Director of School Health Services
Jane Morrissey, MEd, RN
Speaker
Jane Morrison, MEd, RN became the Director of Nursing and Health Services for Salem Public Schools in 2023 after nearly a decade working as a School Nurse in the district. Prior to her school nursing career, she worked as a staff nurse in the pediatric emergency department at Salem Hospital. Her professional background also includes healthcare education in the non-profit sector, having worked with the Institute for Healthcare Improvement and the Global Health Council as a conference planner before returning to school to get her nursing degree. She holds a bachelor's in mathematics from the College of the Holy Cross, an associate’s in nursing from North Shore Community College, and a master's in school nurse education from Cambridge College.
Mike Moriarty, BA, JD
Speaker
Michael Moriarty is a lifelong resident of Holyoke, Massachusetts where he served for 13 years on the school committee. He was instrumental in the formation of the Holyoke Early Literacy Initiative, a community-wide collaborative focused on increasing the number of students that are proficient in reading by the end of third grade. Since joining the Massachusetts Board of Elementary & Secondary Education in 2015, he has constantly raised awareness about the longstanding crisis of poor early literacy outcomes and their consequences.
Mr. Moriarty is the executive director of OneHolyoke CDC, a community development corporation based in Holyoke. OneHolyoke Community Development Corporation is a mission-driven non-profit that believes every resident of Holyoke should live in a dignified home and a safe, attractive neighborhood. Prior to joining the company, he was a practicing attorney for twenty years. He has led workshops, and presentations and spoken on panels across the country about best practices and policies to improve reading outcomes and prevent adolescent illiteracy.
SHIELD Program Manager/Planner: Lesly Zapata, MPH
In support of improving patient care, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.
Nursing Contact Hours: 2.75 contact hours, of which 0 are eligible for pharmacology credit.
SHIELD is a DESE-approved provider for PDPs. PDP certificates are issued for programs/series lasting 10 or more hours on a topic. CNE certificates are also issued for eligible courses. Learners may use CNE certificates toward PDPs.
Available Credit
- 2.75 ANCC
- 2.75 Participation
Price
Enroll in the Zoom session: October 10th, 12:30 - 3:00 PM
Disclaimer Statement
THESE MATERIALS AND ALL OTHER MATERIALS PROVIDED IN CONJUNCTION WITH CONTINUING EDUCATION ACTIVITIES ARE INTENDED SOLELY FOR PURPOSES OF SUPPLEMENTING CONTINUING EDUCATION PROGRAMS FOR QUALIFIED HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS. ANYONE USING THE MATERIALS ASSUMES FULL RESPONSIBILITY AND ALL RISK FOR THEIR APPROPRIATE USE. TRUSTEES OF BOSTON UNIVERSITY MAKES NO WARRANTIES OR REPRESENTATIONS WHATSOEVER REGARDING THE ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, CURRENTNESS, NONINFRINGEMENT, MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OF THE MATERIALS. IN NO EVENT WILL TRUSTEES OF BOSTON UNIVERSITY BE LIABLE TO ANYONE FOR ANY DECISION MADE OR ACTION TAKEN IN RELIANCE ON THE MATERIALS. IN NO EVENT SHOULD THE INFORMATION IN THE MATERIALS BE USED AS A SUBSTITUTE FOR PROFESSIONAL CARE. IN NO EVENT SHOULD INFORMATION IN THE MATERIALS REGARDING LAWS, REGULATIONS, OR LEGAL LIABILITY BE CONSIDERED LEGAL ADVICE OR USED AS A SUBSTITUTE FOR CONSULTING WITH AN ATTORNEY.
Special Services
Boston University strives to be accessible, inclusive, and diverse in our facilities, programming, and academic offerings. Your experience in this event is important to us. If you have a disability, require communication access services for the deaf or hard of hearing, or believe that you require a reasonable accommodation for another reason please contact the BU-CCE Office at least 3 weeks prior to the event to discuss your needs. Please contact us at cme@bu.edu
Copyright
This material is copyrighted by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH). MDPH grants permission for use of these materials for non-commercial educational use only, provided credit is given to the MDPH. Modification of content is permitted only with prior approval of the MDPH School Health Unit.