EVERYDAY HERO

MT. PLEASANT - Sue Weiss starts her day at the Mt. Pleasant Community District central office, where she and her fellow school nurse will compare notes on the previous day's happenings. She then makes rounds between the high school, Harlan and Lincoln Elementary schools, checking attendance and seeing if any students are feeling ill, often getting called to school if someone is injured or feels sick.

Daily tasks haven't changed much for Weiss since the COVID-19 pandemic began, especially as students and staff have been able to settle into the new normal. Schools reopened after winter break on Jan. 5.

'It's a busier day, right at first it was just busy getting out communication and answering questions that parents and staff had,” Weiss said, 'but I think everybody's kind of well-versed in it now and I think it's going much better.”

The 63-year-old has worked in the district since 2007, and has always enjoyed how every day looks different. She's held onto that feeling as COVID-19 has forced schools to drastically change practices to keep students and staff safe.

Kids have been really good about wearing masks and keeping with safety measures, Weiss said, but they have had to send more kids home than usual depending on how they're feeling. The school nurses are taking a harder look at symptoms students are experiencing, and symptoms that may have been seen as minor before the pandemic are now cause to send someone home.

For example, if a student has a risk-risk symptom or two low-risk symptoms they will go home and parents are required to speak with a doctor. If the student tests positive for COVID-19, the nurses will do contract tracing in the school they attend and tell the relevant people if they need to quarantine for 14 days.

'It's just constantly watching for those symptoms and acting on it if we do see them and try to do our part as mitigation for our community, our schools,” Weiss said.

In March, Weiss was involved in research and decision-making in terms of how the district should navigate teaching students during the pandemic. After school ended, she spent the summer in meetings on how to safely open for the fall. Communication has been incredibly important throughout everything, she said.

Henry County Public Health has been coordinating with the district as well. Weiss said they were extremely helpful in their guidance on how the district should in the fall.

'It was a collaboration, you know, it was talking stuff out and getting a health perspective and the administration perspective, and I think we worked really well together,” she said.

Weiss' favorite aspect of her job has always been interacting with the students, and she's happy that most of them are well-versed in COVID-19 information. They'll recognize her in the hallways and wave or say hi, and she enjoys making sure they're doing well. Just like comforting a kid who fell down on the playground, Weiss knows that trying to dispel a kid's fears if they feel ill with COVID-19 symptoms goes a long way in calming them.

'It just goes back to reassuring them that they're OK and that it will be OK, it just seems to help them feel better,” Weiss said.

- Brooklyn Draisey