<p>Lead School Nurse for Students with Complex Healthcare Needs</p> <p>Reports To: Principal and Office of Health Services</p> <p>Who We Are</p> <p>At our school, we proudly support students with diverse abilities, including those facing cognitive challenges, physical disabilities, and complex medical needs. Our innovative Transdisciplinary Model fosters collaboration among teachers and therapists, ensuring a holistic learning experience with the priority of increasing each student's ability to communicate through Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC). Our vibrant community celebrates a rich tapestry of cultures and backgrounds. Excitingly, in 2025, we'll be moving to a beautiful new building featuring a therapeutic pool, sensory garden, rooftop classroom, and specialized spaces designed just for our students. We warmly invite you to join us at The Carter for the upcoming 2025-2026 school year!</p> <p>Position Overview:</p> <p>The role of the Lead School Nurse entails providing clinical support to a team of school nurses, coordinating student health care plans, managing cases, and ensuring compliance with all applicable state and federal regulations related to student health and safety. The Lead School Nurse will collaborate with the school-based nurses, school-based team, parents, and healthcare providers to promote the health and well-being of students at the Carter School in consultation with the Office of Health Services</p> <p>Key Responsibilities:</p> <p>Clinical Support and Case Management</p> <ul> <li>Assist school-based nurses in developing and implementing Individualized Healthcare Plans (IHPs) and ensure these plans are student-centered and culturally responsive. </li><li>Act as a content expert in caring for students with complex healthcare needs. </li><li>Provide direct nursing care to students with highly specialized and complex medical needs, including but not limited to those requiring ventilator support, tracheostomy care, enteral (tube) feeding, seizure management, total parenteral nutrition (TPN), mobility assistance, and other advanced medical interventions. Care is delivered in collaboration with school staff, families, and healthcare providers to ensure the safety and optimal well-being of students in the school setting. </li><li>Serve as a clinical resource for school staff, offering guidance on chronic disease management, medical devices, and specialized interventions in the school setting. </li><li>Establish and maintain partnerships with primary and specialty care providers involved in the care of Carter School students who have chronic health conditions and special health care needs. </li><li>Participate in quality improvement initiatives to enhance case management practices at the Carter School, in consultation with the BPS Office of Health Services </li></ul> <p>Support & Leadership</p> <ul> <li>Provide guidance and mentorship to the Carter school-based nurses. </li><li>Act as a liaison between school-based staff, 1:1 agency nurses, the Health Services Administration team, families, and healthcare providers. </li><li>Support the implementation of health policies and procedures in alignment with district and regulatory standards. </li><li>Maintain the integrity of health data and contribute to data tracking and reporting. </li></ul> <p>Other Responsibilities:</p> <ul> <li>Provides emergency medical care to students. </li><li>Administers and/or supervises the administration of prescription medication to students. </li><li>Counsels and/or educates students in small groups or one-on-one regarding medical issues. </li><li>Conducts formal and informal evaluations of medical conditions and develops accurate medical summaries on students. </li><li>Teaches mini-courses to small groups of students in medical and health areas. Monitors and assesses compliance with immunization standards as per BPS and DPH regulations. </li><li>Performs vision, hearing, scoliosis, dental, and other health-related screening as required by DPH or BPS Office of Health Services. </li><li>Develops and maintains contacts with medical personnel or facilities who might provide direct service or consultation. </li><li>Participates in Service Team meetings for students when medical input, interpretation, or consultation is required. </li><li>Establishes and maintains appropriate record-keeping and reporting formats and procedures. </li><li>Conducts formal workshops and/or informal training for staff as appropriate. </li><li>Maintains adequate and updated health records. </li><li>Serves as a medical representative to evaluations and reevaluations, obtains and interprets medical evaluations at these meetings. </li></ul> <p>Core Competencies: Using the Rubric of Specialized Support Instructional Personnel (SISP), the Office of Human Resources has identified priority skills and abilities that all BPS SISP should demonstrate.</p> <ul> <li>Accountability for Student Achievement </li></ul> <p>(II-A-1 Quality of Effort and Work, II-D-2 High Expectations, I B-2 Adjustments to Practice)</p> <ul> <li>Sets ambitious learning goals for all students, uses instructional and clinical practices that reflect high expectations for students and student work; engages all students in learning. </li><li>Consistently defines high expectations for student learning goals and behavior. </li><li>Assesses student learning regularly using a variety of assessments to measure growth and understanding. </li><li>Effectively analyzes data from assessments, draws conclusions, and shares them appropriately. </li><li>Communicating Professional Knowledge </li></ul> <p>(I-A-1 Professional Knowledge, I-A-2 Child Adolescent Development, I-A-3 Plan Development)</p> <ul> <li>Exhibits strong knowledge of child development and how students learn and behave, and designs effective and rigorous plans for support with measurable outcomes. </li><li>Demonstrates knowledge of students' developmental levels by providing differentiated learning experiences and support that enable all students to progress toward intended outcomes. </li><li>Equitable & Effective Instruction </li></ul> <p>(II-A-3 Meeting Diverse Needs, II-A-2. Student Engagement, II-B-1. Safe Learning Environment, II-B-2 Collaborative Learning Environment, I-D-3 Access to Knowledge)</p> <ul> <li>Builds a productive learning environment where every student participates and is valued as part of the class community. </li><li>Utilizes instructional and clinical practices that are likely to challenge, motivate, and engage all students, facilitating active participation. </li><li>Consistently adapts instruction, services, plans, and assessments to make curriculum/ supports accessible to all students. </li><li>Cultural Proficiency </li></ul> <p>(II-C-1. Respects Differences, II-C-2. Maintains Respectful Environment)</p> <ul> <li>Actively creates and maintains an environment in which students' diverse backgrounds, identities, strengths, and challenges are respected. </li><li>Parent/Family Engagement </li></ul> <p>(III-A-1. Parent/Family Engagement, III-B-2. Collaboration)</p> <ul> <li>Engages with families and builds collaborative, respectful relationships with them in service of student learning. </li><li>Consistently provides parents with clear expectations for student learning behavior and/or wellness and shares strategies to promote learning and development at school and home. </li><li>Professional Reflection & Collaboration </li></ul> <p>(IV-A-1. Reflective Practice, IV-C-1. Professional Collaboration, IV-C-2. Consultation)</p> <ul> <li>Regularly reflects on practice, seeks and responds to feedback, and demonstrates self-awareness and commitment to continuous learning and development. </li><li>Consistently collaborates with colleagues through shared planning and/or informal conversation to analyze student performance and development, and to plan appropriate interventions at the classroom or school level. </li><li>Regularly provides advice and expertise to general education teachers and the school community to support the creation of appropriate and effective academic, behavioral, and social/emotional learning experiences for students. </li></ul> <p>Qualifications - Required:</p> <ul> <li>Current Massachusetts Registered Nurse License </li><li>DESE license: School Nurse (all levels) </li><li>Current certification in CPR, First Aid, & AED </li><li>Demonstrates excellent communication skills </li><li>Experience in caring for students with complex special healthcare needs. Experience in working with students dependent on medical technology and equipment. </li><li>Demonstrated ability to build positive relationships with and among students, adults, and multiple stakeholders from various racial/ethnic and linguistic backgrounds. </li><li>Demonstrated coaching, mentoring, and clinical support skills </li><li>Demonstrated experience providing professional development and training </li><li>Demonstrated understanding of racial equity and ability to engage in dialogue about race, intersectionality, and systems of oppression </li><li>Demonstrated cultural proficiency and a deep sense of cultural humility and self-awareness. </li><li>Demonstrated knowledge of the impact of the stresses of racism and poverty on students and their families served within urban school systems </li><li>Minimum three (3) years working in an urban setting with diverse populations with proven effective and culturally responsive experience serving Black/ African American and Latinx populations, and ability to lead others in conversations of race, racism, and culture </li><li>Demonstrate capability to establish positive relationships and work collaboratively with a variety of stakeholders, such as school-based staff, central administration staff, families, students, community members, community agencies, and other essential partners while remaining student-centered, prioritizing racial equity, and managing competing demands </li><li>Growth, problem-solving, and a team-oriented mindset </li></ul> <p>Qualifications - Preferred:</p> <ul> <li>Clinical experience working with children, adolescents, and families in a school health setting with significant disabilities and special health care needs. </li><li>Master of Science Degree in Nursing </li><li>Experience working with external health agencies and hospitals </li><li>BPS has a strong preference for linguistic diversity, and candidates who speak another language bring added value to the classroom, school, and district culture and diversity. BPS is particularly interested in candidates who are fluent in one of BPS's official languages: Spanish, Cape Verdean Creole, Haitian Creole, Chinese, Vietnamese, Portuguese, and Somali. </li></ul> <p>Terms: BTU, Group I</p> <p>Please refer to www.bostonpublicschools.org/ohc (under "Employee Benefits and Policies") for more information on salary and compensation. Salaries are listed by Unions and Grade/Step.</p> <p>The start and end times of BPS schools vary, as do the lengths of the school day. Some BPS schools have a longer school day through the "Schedule A" Expanded Learning Time (ELT) agreement.</p> <p>The Boston Public Schools, in accordance with its nondiscrimination policies, does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, age, criminal record, physical or mental disability, pregnancy or pregnancy-related conditions, homelessness, sex/gender, gender identity, religion, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, genetics, natural or protective hairstyle, military status, immigration status, English language proficiency, or any other factor prohibited by law in its programs and activities. BPS does not tolerate any form of retaliation, or bias-based intimidation, threat or harassment that demeans individuals' dignity or interferes with their ability to work or learn. If you require an accommodation pursuant to the ADA for the application process, please contact the Accommodations Unit at accommodations@bostonpublicschools.org.</p>