Children’s School Services Comprehensive School Health Program

Children’s School Services Comprehensive School Health Program provides nursing and health services in all of the 177 public and public charter schools in the District of Columbia. This ensures that every child in the District’s public schools has access to a pediatric-specialized nurse from Children’s National Medical Center. The program operates through a contract with the District of Columbia Department of Health.

The program’s mission is to enhance education by maximizing the health and well-being of youth in the District’s public schools. Recognizing the diversity of the student population, the nurse works with school personnel, families and community resources to minimize and eliminate health-related barriers to learning.

Good health is essential to the academic success and life-long achievement of students. The program incorporates the physical, psychological, socio-cultural, and spiritual needs of students. Health and nursing services focus on prevention and early identification and intervention to address student health problems.

School nurses:

• Promote a healthy school environment, providing for the physical and emotional safety of the school community 
• Assist students with chronic illnesses that require ongoing treatment, including monitoring blood sugar levels and tube feeding 
• Conduct screenings and referrals for various conditions, such as vision, hearing, postural, and body-mass index 
• Provide health assessments and referrals for health problems and behaviors 
• Control communicable diseases by ensuring that all children are immunized
• Identify suspected child abuse, illegal drug abuse or depression and determine appropriate intervention

For more information about Children’s School Services Comprehensive School Health Program, contact 202-675-5700, or you may search our current openings.