Statewide School Nurse Workforce Data
The COVID-19 pandemic impacted the health and wellbeing of students, families, school nurses and educators. The inequities in health and education for students that existed prior to the pandemic are now overwhelming school health resources, specifically the school nursing workforce. To better understand and inform what is needed to respond to these increasing needs, our collaboration * collected and analyzed school nursing workforce data and student data from the Minnesota Student Survey.
The resources, analyses, and tools emerging from this collaboration were designed to help school nurses, school leaders, parents, and policy leaders make the case for a comprehensive approach that prioritizes increased investments in the school health workforce that will better support student health and education outcomes.
Minnesota School Nurse Workforce: A 2022 Snapshot Technical Report of Data (PDF) is a technical report of data specifically focused on the school nurse workforce data, key findings, and recommendations from this collaborative work.
*The collaboration included the Minnesota Department of Health Adolescent and School Health Unit, University of Minnesota’s Healthy Youth Development * Prevention Research Center, the School Nursing Organization of Minnesota, Minnesota Service Cooperatives, BrightWorks Educational Cooperative, and the Minnesota Department of Education.
Additional Resources
The School Nurse Organization of Minnesota (SNOM)/Advocacy/Advocacy Tools is home to these materials developed also through this collaborative work:
Minnesota School Nurse Workforce: A 2022 Snapshot which is a brief description of the school nurse workforce in Minnesota based on the complete technical report.
How are the Children? Minnesota Student Survey: Student Health & Wellbeing
District Decision Makers is a document that makes the case for more student health services and advocates for a full-time school nurse in every building by sharing results from the MN Student Survey (MSS) data on health analyses demonstrating how chronic health conditions, anxiety, and depression intersect with chronic absenteeism and academic engagement.
A Guide for Parents: The State of School Health in Minnesota
Parents and Families is a document aimed at helping parents be advocates for their child’s health during the school day. Parents send their children to school trusting the school to have the resources and staffing to care for students' academic and healthcare needs. Parents are critical voices who could build public will for expanded student health services.