H1N1 (SWINE) FLU - PARENT INFORMATION

District Precautions

By Mary Gricus

In the interest of community health, we are posting the April 30th news bulletin from the Cook County Department of Public Health (click link below). On Monday, May 4th, District 113A administrators will attend a community-based meeting with representatives from all of the local government and safety agencies to coordinate efforts and resources in preventing the spread of the virus in our schools and community.

In our recent letter to parents, we noted that our nurses are calling the families of all of our students who are absent for illness. The nurses contact staff members who are absent, as well. As of Thursday, April 30th, our district had no confirmed or probable cases of swine flu among students and staff. For the last week, our student absence totals have been lower than they were last year during this same time period. However, our absence rate may change quickly in the days and weeks ahead. The nurses will continue to make contact with absent students and staff members and track the absence patterns until this period of heightened awareness has passed. Our schools' registered nurses are excellent resources for our staff, students and families. They are providing leadership for the school-based hygiene practices that are supervised by the teachers and staff; the nurses are also key participants in the ongoing district-wide planning related to the prevention of the virus in our schools.

We will also continue to monitor updates and recommendations from the Cook County Department of Public Health (CCDPH), the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) regarding this issue. We will consult the IDPH and/or CCDPH in the case of a confirmed diagnosis of swine flu among our students or staff and implement procedures aimed at keeping our students and staff safe and healthy.

In the meantime, the nurses and building administrators will continue to follow the protocols that have been established by the local, state and national public health agencies. Since Friday is a half day of attendance for students, our custodial crew will use the opportunity to conduct a deep cleaning of all of the schools, with special attention to the high contact areas.

Our teachers and staff are guiding the students to follow safe practices for disease prevention (i.e., hand washing, covering coughs and sneezes, etc.) while they focus on the important work of teaching and learning. We are counting on the cooperation of students and families during this challenging time for public health. We will keep you informed of any developments that occur in the days and weeks ahead by posting information on the website. We will also use our emergency call out system and e-mail communications for urgent messages, as needed. If you have any questions, please feel free to discuss them with your school’s nurse or principal. Thank you for your support.

To view Parent Bulletin and CDC (Centers for Disease Control) Guidance for Parents

Parent Information and CDC Guidance for Parents