Allendale County Schools honors two nurses during Nurses Week

Allendale County Schools marked Nurses Week by saluting Martha Brodus Freeman, the nurse at Allendale-Fairfax High School, and Jannie Preacher, the nurse at Allendale-Fairfax Middle School. The district said both women “show compassion when treating and caring for our students” and described their work as selfless.

That recognition points to a job that reaches far beyond bandages and ice packs. School nurses help manage chronic health conditions, coordinate care with families and keep students healthy enough to stay in class. The National Association of School Nurses says school nurses help promote regular attendance by supporting students’ physical and emotional health, while the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says they help students with chronic conditions stay healthy and ready to learn.

The timing also lined up with the national calendar. National Nurses Week ran May 6-12, and National School Nurse Day fell on May 6, the Wednesday set aside each year to recognize school nurses. In Allendale County, that observance gave the district a chance to publicly name the people who often work quietly in the background while helping keep campuses running.

For families, that role can matter in very practical ways. A school nurse may be the first person a student sees with a headache, a chronic condition flare-up or a need for reassurance during the school day. In a rural district like Allendale County, where school staff and families often know one another well, that steady presence can strengthen trust and make it easier for parents to send children to school knowing someone is there to help.

The district’s live feed also recognized Ashiel Bryant alongside Freeman and Preacher during National School Nurse Week, showing that the appreciation extended across more than one campus. Freeman’s post on the high school staff page and Preacher’s listing at the middle school underline how the two nurses serve different age groups, but contribute to the same goal: keeping students healthy, present and ready to learn.

By putting Freeman and Preacher in the spotlight, Allendale County Schools turned a routine week on the calendar into a public reminder that student success depends on more than classroom instruction. It also depends on the nurses who help make every school day possible.