May 23, 2024
Today, Raegan, Jenni, I and carpooled once again to the lovely city of Springfield. We woke up bright and early to beat the traffic and stop by Schuler’s for a delicious donut (Thanks, Bri for the recommendation!). Then, we headed to the schools to get started on the hearing and vision screens. Jenni and I were assigned to screen kindergarteners at Perrin Woods and let me just say it was an eventful and fun day.
Springfield delicacy!
We were greeted by Nurse Donna and she taught us the ins and outs of vision and hearing screenings. She also mentioned the great program that Springfield implements for low income families. This includes free breakfast and lunch for all the kiddos, free school supplies, and they pay for families to live there which includes having their kids join the school systems. Sustainable Development Goal 1.3 states, “Implement nationally appropriate social protection systems and measures for all, including floors, and by 2030 achieve substantial coverage of the poor and the vulnerable.” I have never heard of a program like Springfield implements and they definitely are protecting the poor and the vulnerable in any way they can. Perrin Woods also is creating a Spanish/English classroom next year to help the students learn better for those who still can’t speak English well enough. Nurse Donna said she estimates about 2,000 new students will be joining their district next year just because of Springfield’s program. This will probably cause a lot stress on the teachers and faculty but I believe that they are shaping these young minds for the better.
Learning all of this got Jenni and I excited for the day as we dove into screening these kindergarteners. They definitely kept us on our toes as many of them did not want to be there on their last day of school (I don’t blame them) and some were having a little too much fun with it. However, it was a very cool experience and we were able to adapt to the students who didn’t speak English or simply were afraid to talk to us. I was able to utilize my Spanish minor and pointing skills as they were very beneficial to helping identify these shapes. Everyone passed the vision screenings and only two failed the hearing screenings. I call that a successful day! I definitely don’t remember doing these screenings at school but I was very glad to be a part of it. Again, school nurses do a lot for these school systems and I was happy to help Nurse Donna and she was definitely grateful for us to take some of the load off her plate.
Hearing Screening Tools!
Vision Screening Tools!