Sending Your Child To School When He/She Is Not Feeling Well
Maintaining a healthy school environment greatly depends on help from parents. The health of a student affects his/her ability to learn. Children of all ages, K-12, need a good night's sleep and a good breakfast to help them do their best in school each and every day. A healthy child has a greater capacity to learn than a child who is not feeling well. To protect your child and to prevent the spread of illness to classmates, the nurses ask you to keep your child home if he is experiencing any of the following symptoms:
- Nausea/vomiting/diarrhea.
- Temperature of 100 degrees or higher (must be under 100 degrees without the use of fever-reducing medication before return to school)
- Contagious illness (such as strep throat, pink eye, or any illness or disease requiring an antibiotic). The child should be on the antibiotic for a full 24 hours prior to return to school. Also, please contact your school nurse so she is aware.
- Strep throat: red inflamed throat with white patches, fever
- Conjunctivitis (pink eye): red, inflamed eye with thick yellowish secretions and crusting around the eye.
- Continuous coughing or sneezing (impacting the ability to perform/function at school)
- Thick yellow or yellow-greenish drainage from the nose,
- Unexplained, undiagnosed, and/or contagious rash (will need to be seen by a doctor for diagnosis and treatment)
- Evidence of Lice (please call and notify the school nurse immediately, steps must be taken for appropriate classroom cleaning and assessment if necessary.
For all these situations, or any others you are concerned about, symptoms should be resolved or treatment underway for 24 hours prior to returning to school. If you are concerned that your child may have any of these conditions, or any other infectious disease, please contact your school nurse and your child’s primary care physician.
Thank you for keeping everybody safe and healthy! Your cooperation in this matter is greatly appreciated.