• School Vision and Hearing Screening Program

    Vision:

    The district would like to alert parents that a small group of volunteers from the Lions Club will be in the schools and working with the students in a supervised setting.  The Lions Club has purchased SPOT vision screening machines that can quickly and accurately detect vision issues.  The Lions members have been trained to use this equipment and will work with our nursing staff to get your child’s vision checked.  If your child’s vision or hearing shows any deficits, your building nurse will alert you to this information, and a print out of the findings will be mailed to you.

    Hearing:

    The main purpose of a school hearing screening program is to identify those children who need further evaluation from those who do not.  A hearing screening does not provide any type of diagnosis, but is recorded as either a "Pass" or a "Refer".  Screenings will be conducted during the first semester of school. ISD 318 screens all students in K-5, along with grades 7 and 9. There are two methods for conducting a school hearing screening: Pure Tone Screenings and Otoacoustic Emission Screenings.

    Pure Tone Screenings: Pure tone screenings can be administered for children ages 3 and up.  A qualified Hearing Screener presents tones of different pitches to each ear. The child wears a set of headphones and raises his/her hand in response to a tone to indicate that the tone was heard. Using a portable audiometer in a quiet setting, the Hearing Screener presents four tones in each ear at a soft level of 20dB HL. If the student does not respond to even one tone, a re-screen is performed in 10- 30 schooldays. If the student does not pass the second screening, then the school nurse will send home a referral letter to seek further evaluation from either an audiologist, physician or primary care practioner. 

    ISD 318 conducts mass screening days for our students.  We rely on many volunteers to accomplish this service.  Our volunteers are gathered from the Lions Club, North College Nursing Program, and the community in general.  All volunteers are trained by the Licensed School Nurse to accurately perform the screenings. If you have any questions or concerns, or would like to opt your student out of this service, please contact your building nurse.

    Here are the dates Vision and Hearing Screenings will be happening for the 2024-45 school year:

    Grand Rapids High School: 9/3/2024

    RJEMS: 9/6/2024

    West Elementary (Vision only): 9/10/2024

    Cohasset Emelentary: 9/19/2024

    Bigfork Schools: 9/24/2024

    East Elementary: 10/1/2024

    West Elementary (Hearing only): 10/4/2024

    St. Joes Elementary: 10/8/2024