Grant High School

On National School Nurse Day, we salute the four dozen nurses who serve Portland Public Schools.

Our school nurses have been at the forefront of the COVID-19 pandemic, taking on responsibility for a wholly different level of care and an illness that remains a mystery in many ways, even after two years.

PPS nurses have provided consultation and care for every school-related COVID-19 case that has been reported. They administer tests, screen for symptoms, trace contacts and have difficult conversations with families about when students should stay home and when they can return.

They also work with PPS administration, faculty and staff to keep track of caseloads, determine the best course of care for individuals and provide input on whether additional precautions should be put in place to keep the community safe and healthy.

Our nurses have done all of this, in addition to the traditional work they did before the pandemic, working with individual students and removing health barriers to their learning.

We need our school nurses now more than ever. And we celebrate their heroic efforts, whether they’re dealing with a deadly international pandemic or tending to the cuts, scrapes and sniffles they’ve treated for decades.

Thank you!