Other Area(s) / Director of Student Health & Wellness

DIRECTOR OF STUDENT HEALTH AND WELLNESS (12 months)

Reporting to the Assistant Head of  School, the Director of Student, Health and Wellness has responsibility for driving collaboration across the School in an effort to implement best-in-class student health and wellness programming. This role will serve as an advocate and leader for the promotion of mental health understanding with all faculty and staff and will also provide front line nursing support to students.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Student Health and Wellness Programming: (~75%)

• Review and catalog existing student wellness programing across the entirety of the School.
• Perform a gap/redundancy analysis of current student wellness programming in an effort to identify omissions, deficiencies, overlaps and excess.
• Produce a best-in-class set of recommendations for implementation across the School.
• Develop a three to five year implementation plan for this important work and drive the implementation.
• Actively promote mental health understanding with all faculty and staff and track student wellness metrics.
• Spearhead student health and wellness advocacy as part of the Strategic Planning process.
• Plan and implement school-wide wellness activities and build community partnerships that support health and wellness.
• Coordinate with the Communications Department for timely community updates regarding student health and wellness at the School.
• Collaborate with the Development Office to find sources of funding for student and wellness programming.
• Provide faculty training on student health and wellness topics, as needed.
• Create Board of Trustee reports and presentations, as needed.
• Liaise with the Parents Association to address School-wide student health and wellness issues.

Nursing Leadership and Support: (~25%)

• Support Latin 360 during summer months as the lead nurse.
• Successfully lead a school health program that helps each student achieve and maintain optimal health so that maximal physical, emotional, and intellectual growth can occur.
• Responsible for the day-to-day management of student health and annual management of student medical records.
• Management and oversight of other school nurses, including the planning coordination and supervision of the nursing team.
• Serves as the medical expert to the community on health and wellness.
• Act as the liaison to the City, State and national health agencies regarding health related matters.
• Serve as a leader in the School for communicable disease control.
• Assure that school health policies and procedures adhere to state, federal and current standards of the Nursing Practice Act, and are correctly implemented throughout the School.
• Participates in the development of the School’s emergency health and crisis plans, as applicable.
• Provide direct nursing care to ill or injured students.
• Perform nursing assessments and take appropriate steps to address student health needs, working in concert with the student support teams and other faculty/staff members.
• Administer medications and manage chronic illness in coordination with individually developed care plans.
• Manage school health records in accordance with the Illinois School Student Records Act.
• Participate on interdisciplinary teams to provide input regarding students with health-related problems and during interventions.
• Review and retain student, faculty, and staff accident forms.

QUALIFICATIONS:

Education and Experience:

• Registered Nurse (RN) licensed to practice in Illinois
• CPR/AED program certification
• Masters of Education or Nursing required.
• 10 years’ experience in the health field including, a minimum of 5 years of clinical nursing experience as a registered nurse, and a minimum of 2  years of school nursing experience.
• Knowledge of school health and nursing practices, along with appropriate health metrics.
• Knowledge of children’s intellectual, social, emotional and physical development.
• Broad knowledge of student support services and strategies that promote a comprehensive wellness program for JK-12 students.

Core Competencies:

• Demonstrates sensitivity, good judgment, and confidentiality in working with students and parents.
• Imparts a positive impact with students, families, faculty and staff.
• Highly motivated professional with outstanding oral, written, and interpersonal skills.
• Enthusiasm for fostering a culture of health and well-being.
• Ability to plan, organize and implement programming and multiple priorities, meet deadlines and anticipate and positively resolve challenges.
• Comprehensive understanding of contemporary health and psychosocial issues that influence children, families, and the community.
• Understand current trends and best practices emerging in mental health and educational research.
• Collect and utilize data to direct evidence-based practices.
• Must be a detail-oriented self-starter with strong planning and organizational skills.
• High level of technology proficiency, including Google suite.
• Organized with impeccable follow-up skills.
• Collaborative work style with a focus on providing exceptional health and wellness programs to the school.
• Commitment to excellence.
• Strong ability to execute work with a diversity, equity and inclusion lens.