York City district closes two schools because of swine flu
By NICHOLE DOBO
Daily Record/Sunday News
Updated: 06/01/2009 10:28:36 PM EDT
(YORK DAILY RECORD/SUNDAY NEWS--JASON PLOTKIN)The York City School District closed two schools Monday after learning more than a dozen students had fallen ill with flu-like symptoms.
Students at Edgar Fahs Smith Middle School and McKinley Elementary School will not return to school until the start of the next school year in August. Staff are to report to work.
The closure, which impacts more than 1,000 students, came four days after a child in the district tested positive for H1N1 influenza, or the swine flu. The child, who was not identified by school, age or gender, is recovering.
This is the second school district in Pennsylvania to close schools because of the swine flu. A Berks County school was closed for a week, reopening May 22.
The York City Health Department was made aware Monday of several students who tested for Influenza A, said David L. Hawk, the city's medical director. Results from the state lab will determine if they are H1N1.
The decision to close schools came late in the day because the school nurses and the city department of health spent the day investigating the scope of the problem, said Supt. Sharon Miller said.
School nurses made trips to homes to visit students out sick and talked with parents of children who were ill who called the schools.
The city health department was alerted to possible swine flu cases through an online reporting system, Hawk said. The reports came from York and Memorial hospitals, he said.
One reason the schools were closed was because the illnesses seemed to be clustered in the two buildings, Hawk said. For example, in one classroom five students were out sick Monday, Richardson said.
State and federal officials do not recommend closing schools for the flu. When the illness was first detected in the United States, several schools were closed because of it. But after doctors learned the flu strain was milder than expected, they lifted advisories to close schools.
The York City School District decided to close two schools to be on the safe side, Miller said.
"I think we are weighing on the side of caution," she said. "This is a proactive approach."
On Monday, parents called the district to report their children were experiencing flu symptoms, said Karen Richardson, the district's head nurse. There are about 16 cases of sick students that are "on the radar," she said.
The district still needs to determine what cutting the school year short will do to funding. State law requires students to attend 180 days of school each year. The state Department of Education can waive the requirement in cases of an emergency, and has said this year it would work with schools who closed because of the swine flu.
There's been no report if the situation will impact graduation, which is set for June 9 in the Toyota Arena, said Jonathan Heintzman, spokesman for the York City School District.
The city health department and the school district emergency response teams reported the closures around 5 p.m. - too late for the district to send a letter home with students.
A group of five women gathered Monday night at the district administration building to make calls to parents. Among them were Parent Advocates for Children president Marjorie B. Wiltshire. Some of the parents she talked to were unaware schools would be closed. She had hoped the district would have fliers for them to hand out, and she wishes the school board would have helped.
"If we could have taken the stuff to the neighborhoods, that would have been faster," she said.
Parent Michael Hester-Bey has two children who attend McKinley Elementary and one who attends Hannah Penn Middle School. He says all his kids are staying home.
"Why if they're taking precautions to close down those schools that they didn't close down all of the schools," he said. "Some kids go to different schools in the same household. You still have the effect of spreading it that way as well."
http://ydr.inyork.com/ci_12496230?source=most_viewed
By NICHOLE DOBO
Daily Record/Sunday News
Updated: 06/01/2009 10:28:36 PM EDT
(YORK DAILY RECORD/SUNDAY NEWS--JASON PLOTKIN)The York City School District closed two schools Monday after learning more than a dozen students had fallen ill with flu-like symptoms.
Students at Edgar Fahs Smith Middle School and McKinley Elementary School will not return to school until the start of the next school year in August. Staff are to report to work.
The closure, which impacts more than 1,000 students, came four days after a child in the district tested positive for H1N1 influenza, or the swine flu. The child, who was not identified by school, age or gender, is recovering.
This is the second school district in Pennsylvania to close schools because of the swine flu. A Berks County school was closed for a week, reopening May 22.
The York City Health Department was made aware Monday of several students who tested for Influenza A, said David L. Hawk, the city's medical director. Results from the state lab will determine if they are H1N1.
The decision to close schools came late in the day because the school nurses and the city department of health spent the day investigating the scope of the problem, said Supt. Sharon Miller said.
School nurses made trips to homes to visit students out sick and talked with parents of children who were ill who called the schools.
The city health department was alerted to possible swine flu cases through an online reporting system, Hawk said. The reports came from York and Memorial hospitals, he said.
One reason the schools were closed was because the illnesses seemed to be clustered in the two buildings, Hawk said. For example, in one classroom five students were out sick Monday, Richardson said.
State and federal officials do not recommend closing schools for the flu. When the illness was first detected in the United States, several schools were closed because of it. But after doctors learned the flu strain was milder than expected, they lifted advisories to close schools.
The York City School District decided to close two schools to be on the safe side, Miller said.
"I think we are weighing on the side of caution," she said. "This is a proactive approach."
On Monday, parents called the district to report their children were experiencing flu symptoms, said Karen Richardson, the district's head nurse. There are about 16 cases of sick students that are "on the radar," she said.
The district still needs to determine what cutting the school year short will do to funding. State law requires students to attend 180 days of school each year. The state Department of Education can waive the requirement in cases of an emergency, and has said this year it would work with schools who closed because of the swine flu.
There's been no report if the situation will impact graduation, which is set for June 9 in the Toyota Arena, said Jonathan Heintzman, spokesman for the York City School District.
The city health department and the school district emergency response teams reported the closures around 5 p.m. - too late for the district to send a letter home with students.
A group of five women gathered Monday night at the district administration building to make calls to parents. Among them were Parent Advocates for Children president Marjorie B. Wiltshire. Some of the parents she talked to were unaware schools would be closed. She had hoped the district would have fliers for them to hand out, and she wishes the school board would have helped.
"If we could have taken the stuff to the neighborhoods, that would have been faster," she said.
Parent Michael Hester-Bey has two children who attend McKinley Elementary and one who attends Hannah Penn Middle School. He says all his kids are staying home.
"Why if they're taking precautions to close down those schools that they didn't close down all of the schools," he said. "Some kids go to different schools in the same household. You still have the effect of spreading it that way as well."
http://ydr.inyork.com/ci_12496230?source=most_viewed