What is a school, at its core? It’s an educational institute for children to learn and grow, but it’s also a little more than that. It’s a place away from home where students can get the help they need in a variety of ways, and without the teachers and outside professionals making this possible, a school wouldn’t be able to function on its own, or offer its students so many benefits.
Screenings for Hearing, Vision, and More
The statistics continue to show us that students need more than the basic educational staffing. Nursing is so important and integral to every school unit, as it offers children the chance to find out more about their health needs as a whole. Student needs can sometimes include glasses or hearing aids for children that struggle with either, which is why vision and hearing screening services must take place every single year. Did you know that 40% of parents are aware that their children spend over 3 hours a day on digital devices that could contribute to vision and hearing loss? 20% of teenagers have some form of hearing loss today. This is why the American Academy of Pediatrics believes that hearing screenings should be conducted before a child enters school for the first time and at least once during both middle and high school. Without educational staffing put into place in schools, students would not know if they are suffering from hearing loss, which could have a huge impact on their learning.
The same goes for vision, where 1 in 4 children struggle with a vision problem at any given time. 79% of children have not visited an eye care provider in over a year, which means that there is a need for their vision to be checked when they are in school, where services are right in front of them and easy to access.
Counseling Services
Education staffing agencies also opens the doors to counseling services, which many children could use in our times. We know that there is always a need for educational staffing because the school is not only made up of teachers. In fact, studies show that half of the public school workforce is teachers. The other 50% covers guidance counselors, nurses, speech therapists, and more! The American School Counselor Association recommends that there is at least 1 counselor for every 250 children attending a school so that there is time for every child to talk about what is happening at home, in classes, and so much more.
As you can see, we will always have a need for outside sources to come into schools to improve the function of a school in many ways, and give students hope to work toward. Every student can use the help of a counselor at some point, as well as vision and hearing screenings they might not have gotten if the school hadn’t provided them. This is something we all need to take a look at as our children grow.