The question of whether school nurses have received the recognition they are due was top of mind at the UFT School Nurses Chapter’s appreciation dinner at union headquarters on May 11, which is National School Nurses Day.

During what he called “the most-challenging year of all time” for city schools, the school nurses’ performance was “heroic, way above and beyond,” UFT President Michael Mulgrew told the gathering.

Students needed support to stay healthy and safe when they returned to schools, and “despite the anxiety and fear, you did it,” he said.

School nurses said their school communities valued their service. “I think the parents are very appreciative of us,” said Elizabeth Riley, a school nurse at PS 13 on Staten Island. But, they said, that recognition is sometimes in short supply from the Department of Education and the outside world.

“During the pandemic, we were hidden figures,” said Nieka Thomas-Dowe, the school nurse at the Vida Bogart School for All Children in the Bronx. “We did so much work. We weren’t in the best situation, but we made the most of it.”

She praised School Nurses Chapter Leader Cynthia Bennett for restoring the chapter’s annual appreciation dinner, which had been on hiatus since the pandemic began.

Bennett said there are more than 500 nurse vacancies in public schools citywide. The best way for city officials to show their appreciation while addressing the staffing problem, she said, would be to close the $25,000 pay gap between her members and hospital nurses.