Partnership with Bellevue College Aids Nurse Shortage, Connects with Students

“Look for the helpers,” Fred Rogers often told children during challenging times. In the Issaquah School District, one group of dedicated helpers are our school nurses.

“Being able to be that ‘helper’ myself is incredibly rewarding,” said Cassie Kuver, RN, who serves students, families and staff at Cedar Trails Elementary.

This school year, Kuver and her colleagues are mentoring 25 nursing students from Bellevue College, part of a growing partnership to support workforce development amid a national nurse shortage. The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates the U.S. will need 200,000 more nurses over the next decade to meet demand.

Now in its second year, the partnership pairs Bellevue College students with school nurses for hands-on job shadowing. Students gain real-world exposure to the diverse role of school nurses.

“There is a vast diversity of perceptions about school nursing,” Kuver said. “It is so much more than bandages.”

The Next Generation of Nurses

The collaboration is aligned with Issaquah School District’s Strategic Plan, which prioritizes developing powerful partnerships that benefit students, families and staff.
Minnat Hamada, MSN, RN, chair of Bellevue College’s Associate Degree in Nursing program, understands the importance of school nursing firsthand.

“I was never taught about school nursing when I was studying to be an RN,” Hamada said. “These job shadows open the eyes of our students about the important work nurses do in schools.”

During the fall session, college students helped with vision and hearing screenings, a crucial component of school health.
“Children need to see and hear to fully access their education,” said Laura Carmichael, RN, ARNP, MBA, the district’s director of health services. Early identification
leads to earlier support.

School nurses also manage chronic conditions like asthma and diabetes, respond to emergencies and offer one-on-one care for students with complex needs.
“It was eye opening to learn some students require individual nursing care,” said Grace Huang, a Bellevue College student. “This kind of support doesn’t exist everywhere in the world.”

A Reflection of Our Community

The partnership also offers representation in health rooms that reflect the district’s diverse student population.
“The diversity of Bellevue College mirrors our district’s enrollment,” Carmichael said. “Our students want to see reflections of themselves in the health room as well as in our community.”

While nurses treat the daily bumps and bruises of active children, they also play a vital role in public health, coordinating with the Department of Health to respond to diseases like chickenpox or measles.

Thanks to voter-approved Educational Programs and Operations levies, each school in the district has a registered nurse and a health room specialist. These investments make the district’s health care model possible.

“School nursing is not easy,” said Belinda Bunham, a nursing student who shadowed at Maywood Middle School. “It is nursing in general, just in a small room!”


Above, Issaquah High School Nurses pause for a photo in celebration of School Nurse Day last school year.