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Schools report high absenteeism due to flu
Published: Wednesday, October 21, 2009
By John M. Roman
jroman@delcotimes.com
Absentee rates have been above normal at several school districts, but school officials can?t definitively attribute it to any swine flu outbreak ? more like seasonal flu and other factors arriving with the fall season.
In the Penn-Delco School District, two out of the four elementary schools had a 25 percent absentee rate, while in the other two schools it was only about 5 percent, said Superintendent Dr. George Steinhoff Tuesday.
?Fortunately, the attendance rates stabilized. Parents are doing what we are asking keeping their children home if they?re ill and fever-free for 24 hours,? Steinhoff said.
Monday, 25 percent of the 414 students enrolled at Pennell Elementary School were absent, and Tuesday, it was down a percentage point, he said. He pointed out that the standard expectation ?is that students do not return to school until they are fever-free for 24 hours.?
There are 438 students enrolled at Aston Elementary School, which also had 25 percent absenteeism.
?We had a spike in absences from Friday to Monday,? Steinhoff said, though he added that he did not see such a spike Tuesday.
It is ?really difficult? to determine with certainty what percentage of students may be out because of swine flu, the H1N1 virus, he said.
?We believe that it?s primarily seasonal flu, doctors are reporting flu-like illness,? Steinhoff said. ?Our district appears to be no different than any other districts in the region.?
The district continues to be in contact with the Pennsylvania Health Department and consider its and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines.
Updates to parents and guardians will be regularly posted on the district?s Web site, voice messaging system and e-mails.
In the Upper Darby School District ? the largest in the county with about 12,000 students ? most of the absentee rates doubled between Friday and Monday to 10 percent at the nine grade schools, according to district spokeswoman Dana Spino.
?It?s very hard to pinpoint why,? Spino said. ?Our high school numbers did not jump. We didn?t have the same jump in recent days as we have had in our elementary level. Certain schools had a higher increase than other schools.?
There are nearly 4,000 students enrolled in the high school.
?We have been very proactive in informing our parents and guardians of being precautionary,? Spino said.
Superintendent Lou DeVlieger sent out a global connect message Friday asking parents to have contingency plans in case their children are sick and need to stay home.
?We encourage parents to keep their children home, especially if they have a fever,? Spino said.
The district?s nurses are monitoring students who have been sent home and making sure they are not returning to school until they?re without a fever for at least 24 hours, she said.
Hand sanitizers are in place in the cafeteria and the monitoring of restrooms has been stepped up to ensure ?plenty of soap, towels and hot water,? she said.
Haverford School District
also reported ?somewhat elevated absences,? with districtwide absences Tuesday at less than 12 percent, said Pupil Services Director Valerie Burnett.
?Not all students are out with flu-like symptoms,? Burnett said.
?Administrators are telling parents not to send children to school if they are sick,? she added. ?Any children who are sick at school will be sent home. Staying home when sick will allow your children to rest and allows you to monitor their health closely.?
Custodians are taking extra care to clean surfaces throughout the buildings, including desk tops.
If notified that a bus may have been affected by a sick student, the bus gets an extra cleaning, according to Transportation Director George Ramplin.
Posters with precautions, including the importance of washing hands and proper cough hygiene, can be found all over the district including on school buses.
?We stress and have asked parents to stress that their children not share personal items like drinks, food or unwashed utensils, and to cover their coughs and sneezes with tissues,? Burnett said.
At the Springfield School District, absenteeism is running between 8 to 15 percent from Friday to Tuesday, said Superintendent Dr. James Capolupo. ?And that is more than normal.?
He discounted rumors of swine flu.
?I would think it?s a combination of everything, and maybe even Phillies fever,? he said. ?Every night when the kids leave school, we are sanitizing the entire district?s schools.?
Hand sanitizers have been placed in restrooms, classrooms, hallways and lobby areas.
?We have a picture on how to wash your hands in every single restroom,? he said.
He said there have been cases of flu-like illnesses, but he hasn?t received any confirmation of swine flu from doctors. He urged parents to visit h1n1inpa.com for updates.
?I want to maintain a sense of normalcy: Keep our schools open; our kids and our staff healthy; and move forward with all the good things we want to do to help our students,? Capolupo said.
http://www.delcotimes.com/articles/2009/10/21/news/doc4ade760fd75e0180848801.txt
Published: Wednesday, October 21, 2009
By John M. Roman
jroman@delcotimes.com
Absentee rates have been above normal at several school districts, but school officials can?t definitively attribute it to any swine flu outbreak ? more like seasonal flu and other factors arriving with the fall season.
In the Penn-Delco School District, two out of the four elementary schools had a 25 percent absentee rate, while in the other two schools it was only about 5 percent, said Superintendent Dr. George Steinhoff Tuesday.
?Fortunately, the attendance rates stabilized. Parents are doing what we are asking keeping their children home if they?re ill and fever-free for 24 hours,? Steinhoff said.
Monday, 25 percent of the 414 students enrolled at Pennell Elementary School were absent, and Tuesday, it was down a percentage point, he said. He pointed out that the standard expectation ?is that students do not return to school until they are fever-free for 24 hours.?
There are 438 students enrolled at Aston Elementary School, which also had 25 percent absenteeism.
?We had a spike in absences from Friday to Monday,? Steinhoff said, though he added that he did not see such a spike Tuesday.
It is ?really difficult? to determine with certainty what percentage of students may be out because of swine flu, the H1N1 virus, he said.
?We believe that it?s primarily seasonal flu, doctors are reporting flu-like illness,? Steinhoff said. ?Our district appears to be no different than any other districts in the region.?
The district continues to be in contact with the Pennsylvania Health Department and consider its and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines.
Updates to parents and guardians will be regularly posted on the district?s Web site, voice messaging system and e-mails.
In the Upper Darby School District ? the largest in the county with about 12,000 students ? most of the absentee rates doubled between Friday and Monday to 10 percent at the nine grade schools, according to district spokeswoman Dana Spino.
?It?s very hard to pinpoint why,? Spino said. ?Our high school numbers did not jump. We didn?t have the same jump in recent days as we have had in our elementary level. Certain schools had a higher increase than other schools.?
There are nearly 4,000 students enrolled in the high school.
?We have been very proactive in informing our parents and guardians of being precautionary,? Spino said.
Superintendent Lou DeVlieger sent out a global connect message Friday asking parents to have contingency plans in case their children are sick and need to stay home.
?We encourage parents to keep their children home, especially if they have a fever,? Spino said.
The district?s nurses are monitoring students who have been sent home and making sure they are not returning to school until they?re without a fever for at least 24 hours, she said.
Hand sanitizers are in place in the cafeteria and the monitoring of restrooms has been stepped up to ensure ?plenty of soap, towels and hot water,? she said.
Haverford School District
also reported ?somewhat elevated absences,? with districtwide absences Tuesday at less than 12 percent, said Pupil Services Director Valerie Burnett.
?Not all students are out with flu-like symptoms,? Burnett said.
?Administrators are telling parents not to send children to school if they are sick,? she added. ?Any children who are sick at school will be sent home. Staying home when sick will allow your children to rest and allows you to monitor their health closely.?
Custodians are taking extra care to clean surfaces throughout the buildings, including desk tops.
If notified that a bus may have been affected by a sick student, the bus gets an extra cleaning, according to Transportation Director George Ramplin.
Posters with precautions, including the importance of washing hands and proper cough hygiene, can be found all over the district including on school buses.
?We stress and have asked parents to stress that their children not share personal items like drinks, food or unwashed utensils, and to cover their coughs and sneezes with tissues,? Burnett said.
At the Springfield School District, absenteeism is running between 8 to 15 percent from Friday to Tuesday, said Superintendent Dr. James Capolupo. ?And that is more than normal.?
He discounted rumors of swine flu.
?I would think it?s a combination of everything, and maybe even Phillies fever,? he said. ?Every night when the kids leave school, we are sanitizing the entire district?s schools.?
Hand sanitizers have been placed in restrooms, classrooms, hallways and lobby areas.
?We have a picture on how to wash your hands in every single restroom,? he said.
He said there have been cases of flu-like illnesses, but he hasn?t received any confirmation of swine flu from doctors. He urged parents to visit h1n1inpa.com for updates.
?I want to maintain a sense of normalcy: Keep our schools open; our kids and our staff healthy; and move forward with all the good things we want to do to help our students,? Capolupo said.
http://www.delcotimes.com/articles/2009/10/21/news/doc4ade760fd75e0180848801.txt