25 Weeks of Gratitude: Arkansas Children’s Foundation School Nurse Academy
A program that grows with you
Being a school nurse entails more than administering peppermints for upset tummies or providing a little plastic treasure box for a freshly lost tooth.
School nurses also provide high-acuity – or more complex – care, like administering tube feedings and maintaining tracheostomy tubes (a tube placed into a hole that surgeons make through the trachea to help with breathing).
Often, as the sole medical professional on campus, school nurses serve as the bridge between education and healthcare.
“Everyone depends on you,” said Amy Schultz, R.N., director of nursing and school-based clinical health coordinator for the Springdale School District. Nurses are “the chief wellness officers of the school.”
Amy’s career has taken many shapes over her 23 years in nursing. First, as a critical care nurse at a local hospital, then, as an elementary school nurse for 13 years in the Springdale School District, and now in her current role.
“When you’re in Walmart, and you see one of [the kids], they make you feel like a superstar.”
Amy was recently reminded of the lasting impact school nurses have on students when she received a letter from a now-high school student she had cared for daily during his elementary school years.
Giving a nod to her current position, the student wrote, “I couldn’t think of a better person to be the head nurse.”
As director of nursing for the largest school district in Arkansas, Amy manages about 40 full-time nurses across 31 schools, serving around 22,000 students during the 178 days they are in school. To stay abreast of the latest information on nursing within the educational system, she now regularly attends the School Nurse Academy (SNA) through the Arkansas Children’s Division of Community Engagement, Advocacy and Health.
Supported by a grant from the Blue & You Foundation for a Healthier Arkansas, the School Nurse Academy is training for school nurses throughout Arkansas that supports their professional development by offering skill-based courses that address procedures and topics responsive to their needs.
The program selects conference topics based on an annual survey. Prior meetings have included training on diabetes, asthma, wound care, trach care, Stop the Bleed and poverty.
“There’s so much to learn with school nursing — it’s a specialty.”
Amy has participated in SNA twice and attended a third time in August 2026 with her entire staff. This year, she also served on SNA’s program planning committee.
“They always put a lot of thought into the topics presented. There is always something that we can take back and apply to our practice, which ultimately increases confidence and naturally makes us feel more prepared.”
During this year’s free, one-day conference-style event, attendees heard from an array of speakers, including a diabetes educator from Arkansas Children’s Hospital and an Arkansas AWARE (Advancing Wellness and Resiliency in Education) representative. Topics include leadership and boundaries, caring for students with ADHD (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder), anxiety and depression, and tips and tricks for the school nurse.
And, new this year, the training will be offered twice, increasing access across the state.
“This academy is just for us, and that partnership has been invaluable.”
Though SNA is designed for school nurses, Amy says the impact is far-reaching.
“Funding programs like the School Nurse Academy is an investment in the health and well-being of students and school communities. The knowledge, skills and confidence that school nurses gain through professional development directly enhance the quality of care they provide.”
In addition to SNA, Amy is already busy getting her staff ready for the year ahead.
She runs a supply closet – what really looks like a small retail store – stocked floor-to-ceiling. Nurses can shop for things like Smarties candy for diabetic students, hydrogen peroxide, gloves and Band-Aids. Plenty of Band-Aids.
On average, the district purchases about 400,000 Band-Aids every school year. (But it’s not quite as many bumps and scrapes as it seems — these are also used to restock first aid kits and supply cabinets.)
She’s also planned the team’s annual back-to-school meeting and orientation for new nurses, complete with first-day bags full of goodies and coordinating educational opportunities, just like SNA.
In addition to providing care, the team is responsible for coordinating with healthcare providers to ensure all necessary approvals are in place for the required care to be administered on campus.
“We are working with parents to care for their kids.”
School nursing is a big job, but one Amy says is magical.
In celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Blue & You Foundation, 25 Weeks of Gratitude spotlights 25 stories of Arkansans whose lives have been impacted by Foundation-funded work.
*The Blue & You Foundation was established in 2001 through an initial gift from Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield. Since its inception, the Foundation’s financial base has grown through wise and prudent investment strategies. This has enabled the foundation to support its mission by making grants funded by the interest earned on those investments.