Salem Central School District has unveiled new, industry-standard vision and hearing screeners designed to detect early signs of abnormalities, allowing time for intervention before they affect learning and development. Thanks to the dedication of Salem School Nurse Cortney Hale and the support of the school community, the cost of the machines was fully covered through grant funding.
“The new screeners allow us to visit a classroom and get the whole class screened at once. When you pull a kid out of class, it can create feelings of anxiety in the student. Now, the students enjoy it and ask when their turn is,” Hale said.
With the new technology, the elementary school will be able to screen all students by the end of the year. Students only need to interact with the machines for about four to five seconds, allowing the process to be completed quickly and with minimal disruption to the school day.
“We have already screened all of our Pre-K and Kindergarten students. I thought it might be difficult for our youngest students to complete the screening, but the process has been completely seamless,” said School Nurse Brady Nichols.
When starting the hearing and vision screening process, Hale discovered the old screening machines were missing parts. Due to the age of the old machines, the cost to replace the parts was more than the purchase of new machines, for half of the results.
“The new screeners help parents and providers. Using the printer that comes with the machine, we are able to print out the results of the scan, which can be given to the provider to clarify why a student is being referred to them,” Hale said.
After hearing about the Mary McClellan Foundation from community member Sue Clary, Hale and Clary worked together to fill out the grant application and advocate for the school. The duo secured a grant for $8,500. SoSalem provided an additional $500 to cover the cost increase due to inflation.
“Our staff and community are committed to the well-being of our students, and we commend the work of Nurse Hale, Nurse Nichols, the Mary McClellan Foundation, Sue Clary and SoSalem. The positive effects of their efforts will be long-reaching as we watch our elementary students grow,” said Superintendent of Schools Julie A. Collier.