Sheila Brockmann, school nurse at La Plata High School, was recently honored for her nearly three decades of service to Charles County Public Schools (CCPS).
Brockmann, who will retire at the end of the school year, first came to CCPS as a substitute nurse, sharing the job with another nurse at Walter J. Mitchell Elementary School. Being a school nurse fit much better into her family’s busy schedule. Her husband was a pilot and their children were starting school.
A school nurse’s schedule allowed for Brockmann to be home when her kids were home, and at school when they were. After substitute nursing for a bit, she took the full time job at La Plata. “I was in high school with my kids,” she said of her two children, La Plata graduates.
Working with La Plata students meshes well with Brockmann’s personality. “I love teenagers. I have a soft spot for them,” she said. “You can talk to them a little more, joke with them,” she said. The students are at a stage in life where they are taking charge of their own health, but are still learning. School nurses provide more than Band-Aids and cool compresses. “There’s so much more than that,” Brockmann said. “Some of the students call me their ‘school mom.’ You have to wear many different hats.”
School nurses are called on to assist with every day crises like unexpected injuries or sudden illnesses, but they are also essential players in helping students maintain their health. School nurses can oversee students who have diabetes, those with gastrostomy tubes, ADHD and other conditions in addition to other duties as assigned.
Foremost, school nurses foster a sense of safety and caring in a school.
“She creates a welcoming and supportive environment where students feel safe and cared for,” Desiree Colvin, school health program manager, said. “Sheila works collaboratively with staff, families and students while always maintaining a positive attitude and a student-centered approach.”
A curiosity in science and anatomy coupled with an interest in helping people led to Brockmann to the health field. Following graduation from the historic Presbyterian Hospital School of Nursing in Philadelphia, she worked at an in-patient psychiatric unit, then as a home care nurse after her husband’s service in the U.S. Air Force necessitated a move to New Jersey. Eventually, the family landed in Maryland and Brockmann took on the school nurse role.
Following retirement, Brockmann and her husband plan to move closer to their daughter — also a nurse — who is based in Philadelphia. Brockmann said she might look into ways to put her nursing skills to good use in retirement, but for now she’s saying goodbye to students and staff who have become a family of sorts. “It’s bittersweet,” Brockmann said.
The school system has 56 part time and full time school nurses, contracted through the Charles County Department of Health, working in schools and centers. To learn more about the school health program, visit www.ccboe.com.
About CCPS
Charles County Public Schools provides 27,904 students in grades prekindergarten through 12 with an academically challenging education. Located in Southern Maryland, Charles County Public Schools has 38 schools that offer a technologically advanced, progressive and high quality education that builds character, equips for leadership and prepares students for life, careers and higher education.
The Charles County public school system does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age or disability in its programs, activities or employment practices. For inquiries, please contact Dr. Mike Blanchard, Title IX/ADA/Section 504 Coordinator (students) or Nikial M. Majors, Title IX/ADA/Section 504 Coordinator (employees/ adults), at Charles County Public Schools, Jesse L. Starkey Administration Building, P.O. Box 2770, La Plata, MD 20646; 301-932-6610/301-870-3814. For special accommodations call 301-934-7230 or TDD 1-800-735-2258 two weeks prior to the event.
CCPS provides nondiscriminatory equal access to school facilities in accordance with its Use of Facilities rules to designated youth groups (including, but not limited to, the Boy Scouts).