Hopkins School District #270

Each year the School Nurse Association of Minnesota recognizes its outstanding members. The School Nurse of the Year Award publicly honors one school nurse who demonstrated excellence in school nursing practice and leadership in school health.   The School Nurse Administrator of the Year Award publicly honors one school nurse administrator who administers and coordinates quality school nursing services and health programs.  

Hopkins Public Schools has been fortunate to have two of their Licensed School nurses be nominated and win these prestigious awards in 2008 and 2009.

On October 16, Mary Jo Martin, RN, BSN, MAEd, NCSN of Minnetonka was recognized  for her outstanding leadership as a School Nurse Administrator at district, community, and state levels during the Annual School Nurse Organization of Minnesota Annual Fall Conference. Mary Jo manages health services for Hopkins West Junior High in Minnetonka.

As the lead school nurse in Hopkins School District for the past seven years, she has coordinated quality comprehensive school nursing services and health programs through the development of unique partnerships with community agencies to access services for student health needs. These agencies included Children’s Dental Services, Lion’s Club, Park Nicollet Foundation, and West Suburban Teen Clinic.

As a member of the SNOM Board of Directors since 1999, Mary Jo has made significant contributions to school nursing in Minnesota as SNOM Treasurer, Executive Committee member, and chair of the Membership Committee. She also co-chaired the Greater Metro Nurses Council during the 2002-03 school year and participates on the Hennepin County Alliance Public Health Taskforce.

Mary Jo’s professional writing contributions also include her two chapters, Organ Transplant and Fragile X Syndrome, for the Individualized Healthcare Plan Books published by Sunrise Press in 1999 and 2005.

Congratulations, Mary Jo, on your demonstrated leadership and community partnerships that enhance the health and well being of students, families, and communities in Hopkins and Minnesota.

SNOM members gathered at a luncheon on November 7, 2009 to honor, Roberta Pointer as the SNOM School Nurse of the Year.

Roberta (Bobbi) Pointer has been Hopkins High School's licensed school nurse since 2001. During her tenure there, she has created and implemented several programs that address certain unmet health needs of the greater school community.

In a partnership with the Park Nicollet Foundation, Roberta has developed the Caring for Health Minds program, a free, on-site school clinic, staffed by adolescent mental health care providers, that follows 30-40 students annually with unmet mental health needs. Bobbi has also collaborated with High School staff and community groups to provide screening and services for at-risk students, in addition to wearing the hat of a parent educator, co-teaching several teen groups that focus on successful parenting. For the past 6 years, she has served on and provided leadership for the Board of Directors of Teens Alone, a non-profit community organization that offers free counseling and referral services to youth and families. Her additional coordination duties include the Hopkins High School Staff Health and Wellness Program, the district-wide flu shot clinics, and overseeing a Weight Watchers at Work Program.

Bobbi participates in research and data collection to advance school nursing practice. Her work includes evaluating the Healthy Minds Clinic, looking at effects of exercise on academic performance of ALC students, determining whether traditional health classes meet the needs of Hopkin's ELL students.

In 2006, Bobbi was nominated by a teacher colleague to receive the Fox 9 Top Teacher Award and in 2008 received Minnetonka Rotary's Award for Building Responsible Youth for her work with teens in the school community.

She received her BSN from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and her MSN from the University of Minnesota, School of Nursing.