In Maine, the school nurse is a Registered Nurse (RN), licensed by the State Board of Nursing, that has received certification from the Maine Department of Education. A school nurse can strengthen and help facilitate the educational process by improving and supporting the health and well-being of students. School nurse's work focuses not only on the prevention and treatment of illness, but also the early identification and intervention of various health problems. A school nurse is uniquely qualified and knowledgeable to be a wonderful resource for teachers, students, families, and communities.
On any given day, you might find our school nurse:
Assessing and following up on acute and chronic health issues of students
Screening students vision, height, weight and hearing
Coordinating and administering medications and treatments to students
Tracking student immunizations
Supporting students and staff in choices that promote health and wellness
Managing and reporting communicable diseases in the school
Writing and revising school health policies to reflect best evidence-based nursing practice
Managing medical emergencies for students and staff at the school
Providing staff education (e.g. training staff regarding student’s health issues and educating staff on Emergency Procedure requirements)
Coordinating and collaborating with parents, community health providers, and others, to ensure students are safe, healthy, and ready for learning
Please do not send your child to school if they are not well. Students that become ill during the school day will be assessed by the school nurse and receive appropriate care and supervision in the nurse’s office. A parent or responsible adult listed on the Emergency Information form will been contacted if the student needs to go home. Your child may return to school once symptoms have resolved without the use of medications for 24 hours.
In accordance with Maine Department of Health and Human Services guidelines from the Center for Disease Control, a child should not attend school or will be dismissed if the student has one or more of the following symptoms:
Fever: a fever is defined as having an body temperature of 100.0 degrees or higher.
Diarrhea: defined as frequent urgent passage of watery, loose uncontrollable bowel movements, within 24 hours prior to the start of school.
Vomiting: defined as involuntary expulsion of stomach contents, within 24 hours prior to the start of school.
Nasal Discharge: green or yellow mucous accompanied by a fever.
Severe coughing: persistent coughing causing child to not be able to concentrate on work.
Sore Throat: if accompanied by a fever or if child is unable to eat or swallow.
Ear ache: if accompanied by a fever or if child is in moderate to severe pain.
Possible conjunctivitis: red eye with mucous drainage. If conjunctivitis is confirmed students are recommended to be on antibiotics for 24 hours before returning to school.
Rash: unexplained rash with fever or if rash is open and draining. Child can return to school once a physician has determined the illness is not contagious and fever is gone.
Strep Throat: need to be fever free and recommended to be on antibiotics for 24 hours.
Impetigo: recommended to be on antibiotics for 24 hours, if not on antibiotics lesions should be dry and not draining.
Children struggling to manage symptoms cannot comfortably participate in school work and expose peers and staff to their illness.
Students should be fever-free without the aid of fever-reducing medication, such as Acetaminophen or Ibuprofen for 24 hours before returning to school.
All children enrolled in a public or private school in Maine must have the following immunizations:
Required for PreK entry:
• 4 DTaP (diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis)
• 3 Polio
• 1 MMR (measles, mumps, rubella)
• 1 Varicella (chickenpox)
Required for Kindergarten entry:
• 5 DTaP (4 DTaP if 4th is given on or after 4th birthday)
• 4 Polio (3 Polio if the 3rd is given on or after the 4th birthday)
• 2 MMR (measles, mumps, rubella)
• 2 Varicella (chickenpox)
Proof of each administration must be provided to your school nurse, and include vaccine type, date administered and provider name.
If you have any questions or need additional information, please contact your school nurse or
Maine Immunization Program Maine Centers for Disease Control Maine Department of Health and Human Services (207) 287-3746 or (800) 867-4775 TTY Users Call Maine Relay 711 www.ImmunizeME.org
The school nurse works to support the healthy growth and development of our students. Health screenings for vision and hearing are done at intervals recommended by the State of Maine.
Vision- both near and distance, is screened in grades K, 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9.
Re-screening can be done, at any time, by teacher or family request.
Hearing- high and low frequency, is screened in grades K, 1, 3 and 5.
Parents will be notified by the school nurse if the screening results are outside the normal range.
Mainers can now view, download, and share their immunization records from Maine's Immunization Information System (IIS) using a health record mobile app called Docket®.
About Immunization Records and Docket®
Docket® is an application that searches Maine’s Immunization Information System (IIS) using basic demographic information (name, date of birth, and sex) to display immunization record information on a mobile device. Phone number verification is required. The app displays vaccination history to anyone with a record in our IIS whose identity has been verified through the Docket® app. This application is not a vaccine passport.
You must be 18 years of age to use Docket®. You can also access vaccine records on behalf of someone for whom you are the parent/legal guardian or authorized personal representative, usually for a minor child or vulnerable adult.
Use Docket® whenever you need to share immunization records, such as during school registration or childcare registration.
View your immunization records using the Docket® app
Using Docket® to view your immunization record is easy. To get started, download the free app by searching "Docket®" on the Apple App Store or Google Play or by scanning the QR code at right. You may also visit Docket® to download the app.
You can access Docket® on your computer!
Please follow the link below for the same easy, secure access to your immunization records. id.app.dockethealth.com/
1. Set up your account. Download Docket® to your mobile device for free from the Apple App Store or Google Play. Log in with an email, Apple, or Google ID.
2. Search your immunization records. Select 'Immunizations' from the main menu. Anyone 18 years old or older with a current phone number in the IIS can access their records.
3. Use Docket® when you need to access your records. You can access you and your minor child’s official immunization records directly with Docket®. You can export PDFs of your records by clicking the “share” button and clicking “Download PDF” within the Docket® app. You can then show or send the PDF as you choose.
If you need to update your contact information in your ImmPact Immunization record, please fill out the request for demographic change form.
About me
Jaclyn M. O'Donnell, ADN, RN, NASN
I joined the MSAD #11 team in January 2023 as the school nurse at Laura E Richards. Having been a nurse since 2011, my professional experience includes care coordination, home health, pediatrics, and hospice. I moved to Gardiner in 2015 and can't think of a better place in Maine to raise a family. My husband and I have 3 children attending schools in the district.
My role as the school nurse is to work collaboratively with students, families, teachers, and our community to keep the students at LER safe, healthy and ready to learn!