Substitute School Nurse

 Substitute Nurse

Revised: August 2025

D97 Ideal Team Member Profile

• The ideal team member in District 97 is a visionary and equity-centered leader who inspires excellence and fosters collective responsibility for student success. This individual:
  • Champions the district's vision and drives forward-thinking, innovative practices that anticipate future educational needs.
  • Steward public trust and resources with fiscal responsibility and ethical transparency.
  • Demonstrates relentless commitment to student success, ensuring that every decision supports equitable opportunities and outcomes for all learners.
  • Organizes and empowers teams to work collaboratively toward shared goals, recognizing the interdependence of roles across departments and schools.
  • Fosters a culture of care, learning, and service, grounded in authentic engagement with students, families, staff, and community members.
  • Models integrity, professionalism, and confidentiality, serving as a role model for ethical and respectful conduct at all levels.
  • Thrives in a culturally, racially, and linguistically diverse environment, showing a deep passion for inclusive practices and building belonging for all team members.
  • Seeks and embraces feedback, especially when it challenges them to grow and improve in service of students and colleagues.
  • Understands the powerful intersection of leadership, learning, and equity, and aligns their work to dismantle systemic barriers.
  • Courageously addresses unprofessional behavior, holding self and others accountable to high standards in service to the community and students.

About the Role:

Join our dynamic school district team as a substitute nurse! In this crucial role, you will provide care for sick and injured students, maintaining health records, performing medical procedures per provider orders, and promoting healthy practices in alignment with our district's equity commitments as expressed in the  Board Policy 7:12: Ensuring Racial and Educational Equity.  Your responsibilities include providing health care and emergency care to the pediatric population and serve as a resource to health and safety related concerns in the elementary school setting.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities: 

• Provide daily and as needed/emergency medication.
• Provide care for student illness and accidents and consult/emergency care to staff in urgent situations.
• Administer care based on Individual Health Care Plans, Emergency Care Plans and Medical Section 504 Plan accommodations.
• Serve as liaison between home and school for health related care and concerns. Provide clear and thorough communication to the building nurse so that the communication chain remains intact.
• Document all student health office visits/student encounters in the electronic record.
• Follows communicable disease procedures and reports all protocols and instructions to building administration /guardians and building nurses for all exclusion and readmission guidelines.
• Follows all rules for sending children home according to sick child guidelines.
• Follow bloodborne pathogen rules and communicate with the front office for custodian/building engineer to provide safe cleaning needs.
• Maintain organized and safe office space and leave in orderly condition.
• Maintain dignity and confidentiality for students and staff.

Content Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: 

Knowledge of:

• basic first aid and emergency medical procedures, including the administration of daily, as-needed, and emergency medications.
• Illinois Department of Public Health guidelines and school district policies regarding communicable diseases, bloodborne pathogens, and sick child protocols.
• standard medical documentation procedures and electronic health record systems.
• Individual Health Care Plans (IHCPs), Emergency Care Plans (ECPs), and Medical Section 504 Plan accommodations.

Skilled in:

• providing prompt and appropriate care for student illnesses and accidents.
• maintaining accurate and detailed electronic health records for all student encounters.
• communicating clearly and effectively with students, staff, parents/guardians, and building administrators regarding health concerns and protocols.
• implementing health and safety protocols, including those related to communicable diseases and bloodborne pathogens.

Ability to:

• follow and administer care based on specific student health plans and 504 accommodations.
• serve as a liaison between home and school, ensuring clear and thorough communication.
• manage a safe, organized, and confidential health office environment.
• maintain the dignity and confidentiality of all students and staff.

Candidate Qualifications:

• Associate's Degree in Nursing, or higher
• Baccalaureate Degree in Nursing, preferred
• Prior experience in school nurse or acute care setting
• Registered Professional Nurse in the state of Illinois
• Experience with diverse pediatric population and pediatric nursing  with an understanding of child development

Physical Requirements: 

This position requires the performance of light work�which requires exerting up to 20 pounds of force occasionally, and/or up to 10 pounds of force frequently to move objects. The position includes close visual acuity, frequent talking, hearing, walking, climbing stairs and standing, occasional lifting, carrying, pushing, and/or pulling, some stooping, kneeling, crouching, and/or crawling, and significant fine finger dexterity.  The job is performed in non-hazardous environments and a clean atmosphere.  The position requires indoor and outdoor supervision during varying temperatures and climatic conditions.

We encourage interested applicants to apply, as we continue to uplift our equity policy. Our goal is to recruit, employ, support, and retain racially and linguistically diverse and culturally competent administrative, instructional and support personnel. Oak Park Elementary School District 97 is an equal opportunity employer and values diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. We are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. 

The mental demands, physical demands, and work environment characteristics are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to allow an employee with disabilities to perform the essential functions.