So flu so good for school attendance

PALO PINTO – So far in Palo Pinto ISD kids “are wanting to come to school and they’ve been really healthy,” said Superintendent Eric Cederstrom. “Our attendance is 98.28 percent. That’s phenomenal.”

Normal attendance for PPISD is 97 percent; the district serves approximately 85 students in pre-kindergarten through sixth grade.

“We’ve been very fortunate [and are] encouraging them to come here and are thanking them for being here; there’s no big shiny bike” to entice them, he said.

So far, “We have no one out with flu that we’re aware of. What we’ve seen are allergy-related issues.

The PPISD faculty and staff are teaching students that they need to be healthy and encouraging them to “come every possible day you can,” said Cederstrom. “In Health and P.E. we have emphasized washing hands, covering mouths, getting lots of fluids and being aware of where your hands go – keep them out of mouths and noses.”

The district has also taken action to sanitize more frequently and target areas of frequent use by little hands.

“We’ve revved up on cleaning and disinfecting,” said Cederstrom, adding that this includes cleaning countertops and door knobs “throughout the course of the day instead of just in the evening. We’re wiping down the buses, handrails and really anything people have contact with on an ongoing basis.”

In the lunch area, Cederstrom said they use diluted bleach water and are “hitting all corners of the table tops and benches.” Additionally, they wipe down computer mice and keyboards “every time kids go in and out of computer lab. We have a hand sanitizer mounted near the door and kids use it on the way in and out of the computer lab.”

“It’s not a distraction. It’s just being a little more aware of what we do. At this point it’s working and we’re going to stick with it,” he said. “Our priority is the education of kids and if they’re not healthy, it’s hard to educate them.”



Other districts

Around the county, many school districts have information for parents regarding flu season posted on their Web sites. Districts responding largely haven’t seen many cases of student illness to date.

“Our daily attendance is continuing to average between 96 percent and 97 percent,” said Garner ISD Superintendent Marion Ferguson. “We had one flu case the first week of school and had two confirmed yesterday.”

“Most of the illness we have experienced this year has been bronchial infections and allergy related,” he added. “[Thursday] was the first day where we had an increase in absences due to illness – we are at 91 percent. [The] cause for the increase is unknown at this time.”

“Our normal attendance rate is about 96.5 percent,” said Gordon ISD Superintendent Jon Hartgraves. “If we dropped to about 85 percent, we would be concerned.” He added for Gordon ISD this would equate to about 30 kids absent.

Hartgraves said that one student has been diagnosed “with [novel] H1N1 and none that we know of have been diagnosed with the regular flu.”

The Index has heard reports that some physicians are telling patients, who test positive for Influenza A, that they have most likely have novel H1N1, even though patients may not have undergone the sub-type testing. Sub-type testing is administered by the state, with patients who qualify under specific criteria, or by private labs.

Hartgraves added that procedures Gordon ISD has implemented include, “waterless hand washing stations throughout the building and [we have] have sent a letter home [to parents telling] what to do if you think your child has the flu.”

Santo ISD Superintendent Greg Gilbert said his district has also made an effort to educate students on hygiene.

“We’ve done a better job, through custodial staff, by wiping surfaces, door knobs, drinking fountains and similar surfaces,” he added. “We have made hand sanitizers more available to classroom teachers and have ordered disposable disinfecting wipes for [teachers to use] on surfaces in classrooms.”

Gilbert said that attendance is close to its “97 percent-plus” average attendance. At the elementary, attendance is 96.73 percent and at the high school, it’s 96 percent.

“To date, SISD is unaffected by flu bug,” he said, adding, “We are seeing some strep throat.”

Likewise, Graford ISD attendance rate “has remained stable at approximately 97 percent,” said Superintendent Chance Welch. “We have been following the recommendations for hand hygiene and routine cleaning of areas that students and staff touch often.”

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