Last month Kim Connolly was told her daughter, Caitlyn, had to switch from Clover Valley to Hillcrest Elementary.

The switch was part of the school district’s plans to house all diabetic elementary students at one location.

Connolly was shocked to learn the school district wanted Caitlyn to transfer to Hillcrest along with four other students who suffer from the same condition.

Not wanting to change schools, especially during the school year, the Connolly family dug in its heels, insisting that Caitlyn remain at the school she’s attended the past three years.

“I feel she has the right to be in her own school and we have to work to find a way to make her safe,” Kim Connolly said. She ultimately prevailed as the school district backed away from the effort.

Caitlin uses an insulin pump to help manage her condition, adminsters her own blood sugar tests, and, during lunch, she takes her meal to the school office where staff helps her count carbohydrates.

Caitlyn isn’t the only student who refused to transfer. Of the four diabetic students, only one transferred to Hillcrest, where two other diabetic students currently attend classes.

School officials wanted to centralize diabetic students in one school so nurses could provide better care for those students while making sure they keep up with their other duties.

Three nurses currently work in Oak Harbor schools and divide the schools between them. One nurse covers the high school, Crescent Harbor and Clover Valley elementary schools; another covers Oak Harbor Middle School, Oak Harbor Elementary, Olympic View Elementary and Clover Valley Elementary; while the third covers North Whidbey Middle School and Hillcrest Elementary.

Gail Cleveland, Special Services director, said the nurse with two schools spends a lot of time at Hillcrest tending to the diabetics and other students with acute nursing needs.

The state doesn’t have a requirement on the number of nurses a school district should have, however, there is a model recommendation a district can follow, said Gayle Thronson, health services supervisor with the Office for the Superintendent of Public Instruction. The recommendation is based on student numbers and the severity of afflictions that come from assessing students.

Parents have to take several steps for their child to stay in their home school.

Their child can choose to self monitor his or her condition. However, that requires a doctor to sign off on that plan and then the student has to demonstrate to a nurse they are capable of self monitoring the condition.

A family can also have an adult volunteer at the school to help provide care as outlined under a treatment plan. That adult has to go through specific training to help with a diabetic’s treatment.

Of the students who chose not to transfer to Hillcrest Elementary, two students are independently managing their treatment. School officials are working with a family at Crescent Harbor Elementary to set up the appropriate level of support, said David Peterson, assistant superintendent of schools. There are two volunteers who are willing to become a designated adult to help the student at Crescent Harbor.

Peterson said if a student’s diabetic condition was serious enough, then that student would be required to attend Hillcrest Elementary, which has the more concentrated nursing service.

Peterson said the district’s attorney and the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights were consulted before the school district decided to pool diabetic students at one school, but the plan wasn’t pursued when parents protested.

Thronson said it can be acceptable for a school district to house medically fragile students at one school, but its up to the Office for Civil Rights to decide what accommodations are reasonable for a student.

Connolly said that her daughter’s condition isn’t serious enough to warrant a transfer.

With Caitlyn remaining at Clover Valley Elementary, Connolly remains concerned about nurse coverage at the various schools.

She said she recently received a letter from the school stating the nurse would only be available at Clover Valley between a half day to one day a week.

“There’s less attention but she’s at the school,” Connolly said of her daughter.

The Connollys have to take extra precautions to ensure Caitlyn’s health. They’re looking for an adult to volunteer and help monitor Caitlyn’s condition.

In the meantime, Caitlyn happily continues at Clover Valley and will soon start participating in an after-school volleyball program with her friends.