What We Do
Program staff include registered nurses, vision and hearing specialists, health assistants, and dental program staff.
School nursing staff provide first aid, medication administration, health counseling, health education and state mandates. They are responsible for planning care for children with chronic illnesses, linking families to primary care providers and other resources, advising school staff, and ensuring that all school children are appropriately immunized. The program provides full-time coverage in all public schools.
The School Health Program also provides health care oversight and clinical guidance to three Cambridge nonpublic schools, as well as city-managed preschools and camps.
Screenings and Surveys
School health oversees the monitoring of COVID-19 within the schools, including guidance on isolation and quarantine, pooled (PCR) testing and the use of rapid tests at home.
The program is also responsible for providing several state-mandated screenings for Cambridge Public School students, including hearing, vision, and postural screenings. Additionally, all 7th and 9th grade students across the district participate in the state-mandated substance abuse screening– Screening, Brief Intervention, Referral to Treatment (SBIRT).
Upper and High School students participate in Youth Risk Behavior Surveys (YRBS) every two years. Students are asked questions about demographics, substance use, violence and safety, mental and sexual health, health care access, physical activity, nutrition, and other topics. Survey results are used to track the prevalence of risky behaviors and to guide the development of programs that positively influence student health and well being. CPHD staff and the Cambridge Public Schools partner to administer the surveys in collaboration with John Snow, Inc.
Supervision and oversight of the School Health Program are provided by the health department’s Senior Director of Public Health Nursing Services, the Clinical Manager of School Health Services, and the Medical Director of School Health.
SCHOOL NURSE DIRECTORY
2024-2025 School Nurse Directory
IMPORTANT FORMS
IMMUNIZATIONS
City of Cambridge school immunization requirements for the 2022-2023 school year.
The state of Massachusetts updates school immunization requirements here each year.
SCHOOL WELLNESS
Learn about the CPS Wellness Policy and how the policy is implemented.
COVID-19 PROTOCOL
Information on the CPS COVID Testing and Quarantine Protocols for students and staff.
Updated: January 27, 2025