Batavia Schools host two mobile health fairs; partners provide dental, vision, immunizations and counseling

Batavia Schools held two mobile community health fairs this spring and early summer to bring mandated public-health services and counseling directly to students and families who face access barriers, district staff told the Board of Education.

The events, held mid-April at HG Storm School (April 18) and in June at Mercy Homes/Batavia Apartments, were organized by Amy Nelson, community outreach coordinator for Batavia Schools, and Kelly Coonrad, district nurse. ‘‘We are very proud and honored to be here today to celebrate the combined efforts of both of our committees, to support families, and the students for access to medical care, dental, vision,’’ Nelson said at the July board meeting.

District officials said the fairs aimed to reduce medical exclusions that can remove students from the classroom when families cannot access required exams or immunizations. ‘‘Our hypothesis was that if we could partner and bring services to the school and the community, we could eliminate most of those barriers,’’ Nelson said. The district noted that in 2024–25, 982 of the district’s 5,218 students — about 19 percent — were eligible for federal subsidies, and that families facing transportation, scheduling and stigma barriers have been among those most affected.

At the Mercy Homes and HG Storm events, the district partnered with La Familia Dental (which brought a mobile clinic and provided dental cleanings and exams), the Lions Club (vision screenings), the Visiting Nurse Association (physicals and immunizations), suicide-prevention and family-counseling providers, and several community organizations. According to district remarks, 90 dental exams and cleanings were provided; 32 physicals and immunizations were completed on-site; and 28 students received mental-health sessions through family counseling and student-based services during these visits. Nelson said many children served had never before had dental exams.

Kelly Coonrad, the district nurse, described how partners adapted to space constraints: when a mobile van was not available at HG Storm, organizers converted a teacher lounge into a temporary dental clinic and brought dental chairs and equipment. Nelson said other community partners provided event supports — for example, the Batavia Women’s Club supplied food, the Boys & Girls Club staffed a table, and a local group ran child activities.

District staff described the fairs as a pilot that they plan to grow. Nelson said district leaders recently met with a representative from Walmart Vision in Batavia to discuss expanding comprehensive vision access. ‘‘We are very much looking forward to continuing to grow the work that we're doing. We just started, so we would love to even help more families,’’ she said.

Board members asked timing and coverage questions: the HG Storm event occurred April 18 (Good Friday, when school was not in session) and the Batavia Apartments event took place in June. A board member asked whether the service totals mentioned covered both days; district staff confirmed the totals reported were the combined total for the two events.

District officials characterized the fairs as one-time, targeted outreach that also helps prevent exclusion from school for students lacking required documentation. Nelson and Coonrad said the district will continue to pursue additional partnerships and to scale mobile services as resources and partner capacity allow.

The board did not take formal action on the events; staff presented the fairs as a program update and as part of routine community-outreach reporting.

The district listed the participating partners on the record and said it would report back to the board if the district scales the model beyond the initial two events.

Ending: The district framed the mobile fairs as an early-stage effort to reduce barriers to care that can interrupt student attendance; staff said they will continue to expand partnerships and report results to the board as the program develops.