School nurses understand the value of the work we do, but many others do not. Current MN laws and infrastructure make it very difficult to tell the story of school health services and the benefits to student health. Over the last 1-1/2 years, a group of individuals from the Minnesota Department of Health, the Minnesota Department of Education, SNOM, and Dakota County
Public Health have worked on a strategic plan for collecting and reporting information related to student health and school health services. The strategic plan calls for a phased approach. Phase One starts with current capacity and what can be implemented immediately. Phase Two expands on what could be implemented with increased capacity, resource and support for Minnesota-specific measures.
Mission
The State of Minnesota has policy, infrastructure, and systems, to
collect, analyze, and report on the health status of students, their health
needs, and the school health services to meet those needs.
Vision
There is meaningful information available about student health and
school health services to inform decision making at all levels to improve
health and educational equity so that all Minnesota students thrive.
SNOM is encouraging all Minnesota schools and school districts to participate in NASN’s Every Student Counts! starting with a few limited data points in 2023-2024. By aligning with NASN’s effort, we can take advantage of their clear definitions for each data point, and schools and districts can enter information directly into NASN’s data platform. These are the data points for the 2023-2024 school year.
1. Official student enrollment numbers as of Oct. 1st
2. Health staffing FTEs and credentials
3. Number of students diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes
The purpose of using data sets is for ALL school nurses to collect data in the same way - so there is uniformity, and information can be compared. Following the definitions of each data set is CRITICAL for this to be successful. The data set does not include everything a school nurse does; it is a beginning point and additional data points are being considered. We are starting
small and hoping to build capacity.
Here is a Every Student Counts! worksheet that can be printed and used to collect the 2023- 2024 MN data points on paper (includes definitions on second page).
Here is an Excel version of the worksheet of 2023-2024 MN data points that can be used to collect the same data points electronically.
Here is an FAQ about the 2023-2024 Minnesota data points.
Here is an FAQ from NASN about Every Student Counts! which includes important information about data privacy considerations.
More information about Every Student Counts! is available on the NASN website here. Please note that MN is not participating in all of the NASN data points at this time as we build capacity. Individual schools/districts can opt to report on additional data points as they wish.
How to get started:
1. Review the information on the FAQs and worksheets above and on the NASN Every Student Counts! website.
2. As appropriate, talk to your district leadership about your interest in participating. Get
the OK for submitting your district’s data. Also find out who to contact to get your school/district’s official Oct. 1 st MARSS numbers.
3. Contact one of the MN Data Coordinators to get enrolled and get support as needed.
4. Collect your data and submit to the NASN platform. The goal is to enter your data
before your 2024 spring break.
MN Data Coordinators:
- Liz Zeno at lizzeno@icloud.com
- Emily Mjelleli at emjelleli@cannonvalleyspecialed.org
- Heather Hedin at health.school.health@state.mn.us
- Denise Herrmann at health.school.health@state.mn.us