Using Data to Tell Your School Health Story

The beginning of a new school year provides an opportunity to share with teachers and principals how you, as the school nurse, support student learning. Presenting data, whether via an Excel spreadsheet, PowerPoint presentation, or handout is vital to telling your students’ story. While often we talk about compiling data for year-end reports, you can share your data anytime. Data can be used to articulate the complexity of students’ health and where needs exist. Presenting your data is a way to advocate for your students and describe your role as the school nurse. There are several questions to think about when preparing a data presentation: Who is your audience? What information are you presenting? How are you going to tell the story? And finally, why is this important? This article will provide tips on conveying your data-driven message to the audience with minimal effort, utilizing digital tools the 21st century school nurse is already familiar with.