Conjure up the idea of the grammar school nurse. She was the nice, friendly lady whose office you went to when you had the upset stomach right after the spaghetti lunch you ate or right before the math test you forgot to study for.
Or she was the kind soul who put the Bactine and Band-Aid on the scrape you suffered during the punch-ball game in the schoolyard. Perhaps you spent time on her cot when you had a headache. Maybe you waited in her doctor-like office until your mom arrived to take you home.
Good image, right?
Well, according to Nancy Higgins, who has been the nurse at North Bergen’s Lincoln School for the last 13 years, the role of the school nurse has changed dramatically over the years to include some classroom teaching.
“I do some health teaching with the fifth grade,” Higgins explained. “I also do some dental awareness classes with the second and sixth grades. The school nurse is involved in so many more things than what we used to be. Nowadays, we are teachers. We’re everything. The job has become more varied and interesting. It’s a little bit of everything.”
With that in mind, it would finally make sense that a nurse could actually be considered as a candidate for a Teacher of the Year honor.
Higgins never gave it a thought.
“I don’t know if they ever considered a nurse before,” Higgins said. “I didn’t think they would consider me.”
However, Higgins was wrong. She was among the eight teachers who were honored by the North Bergen Board of Education as the district’s Teachers of the Year.
One teacher was selected from each of the district’s six grammar schools, one from the early childhood program and one from the high school. They were presented with a golden apple at a ceremony hosted by Superintendent of Schools Peter Fischbach last Friday and will represent North Bergen at the Hudson County Teachers of the Year luncheon at Schuetzen Park on Friday, May 10.
According to the program’s coordinator John Kesheshian, who is the assistant principal at Franklin School, North Bergen has been honoring its teachers for the last eight years as a sign of appreciation.
“The teachers are nominated by the teachers in their own school,” Kesheshian said. “I compile all the information and background and present it to the superintendent. It’s a very nice thing and gives the teachers something to look forward to. It’s also nice that they are chosen by other teachers, not any one from the administration. It means more when they are chosen by their colleagues, their peers.”
Higgins was shocked when she was informed that she was Lincoln School’s Teacher of the Year.
“It’s a nice honor to be recognized by everybody at the school,” Higgins said. “I’m really happy. I don’t know if other nurses have been recognized, but they should be. I think there are other nurses in our district that do a fantastic job. It’s not an easy job. The kids are in need of a little TLC and they know that the nurse’s office is always a safe place to go.”
Carol Toomey was selected as Franklin School’s Teacher of the Year.
“It’s a very nice award,” said Toomey, who has spent the last 12 years teaching seventh and eighth grade math at Franklin. “It means a lot for me to be selected. I didn’t expect it and I was very excited. We have a great group of people at our school and some fine teachers, so it really is an honor.”
Toomey was nominated by fellow teacher Ed Garrison.
“It was very nice that Ed thought of me,” Toomey said.
Others selected included Lisa Gioia-Manzo from McKinley School, Janice Onorato from Horace Mann, Tina Wright from Kennedy, Mary Anne Mulvihill from Robert Fulton, Stephanie Lubroth from the Early Education program and Phillip Steinberg from North Bergen High School.
Toomey said that she had mixed feelings about going to see Fischbach and receive the award. “I was a little curious to see the others who were honored, but it was also a little nerve racking to go to the superintendent’s office,” Toomey laughed. “It was good to see my friends that I don’t get a chance to see often.”
Added Toomey, “In my mind, every teacher is Teacher of the Year. I don’t think people realize just how hard of a job it is. I think we all deserve it.”
Higgins said that she was curious to attend Friday’s luncheon to see if any other nurses were honored.
“It would be interesting if there were more nurses,” Higgins said.