This is a little concerning given how many KY license plates I have been seeing around this last week.
Illness closes more Kentucky schools | Kentucky Enquirer | nky.com
At least four school districts in Kentucky have temporarily shut down because H1N1 flu and other illnesses have significantly reduced attendance.
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In one school district straddling Hart and Barren counties, H1N1 flu and other illnesses sickened so many children that "classes of 25 had five kids sitting there," Superintendent Sam Dick said.
Caverna Independent Schools in Cave City, Whitley County in southeastern Kentucky, Taylor County in Central Kentucky and Todd County in southwestern Kentucky have all closed down. Jefferson County Public Schools, which have not been hit as hard, remain open.
Bishop Brossart High School in Alexandria reopened on Monday after being closed because of illness for four days last week.
Dick said his school system, which has about 800 students in three schools, was open Monday but was closed Tuesday and will remain so through Friday because of flu-like illnesses, a stomach bug and other ailments. He said attendance across the district was only 74 percent when officials decided to call off school - and even his 11-year-old daughter was out sick on Monday.
"Once a school system drops below 85 percent attendance," he said, "that warrants more severe action."
State health and school officials generally advise closing schools only when so many students and staff are absent that they can't conduct business. Health officials no longer track individual cases of H1N1 flu, but have classified flu in Kentucky as "widespread" - the highest level. Children are among the most vulnerable to the H1N1 virus.
"We are telling districts to use their best judgment and consider (U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) guidance on closings," said Lisa Y. Gross, spokeswoman for the Kentucky Department of Education. "...We have not issued any blanket recommendations."
According to the CDC, "school and health officials should work closely to balance the risks of flu in their community with the disruption dismissals will cause in both education and the wider community." If schools do dismiss students, the CDC says, they should do so for five to seven calendar days.
School dismissals in Caverna and Taylor County are happening before fall breaks, allowing extra time for children to recover from illness. In the four-school Taylor County system, school was called off Tuesday and Wednesday, and fall break starts on Thursday and runs until Oct. 12. Superintendent Roger Cook said systemwide attendance was down to 85 percent on Monday because of flu and other illnesses.
Lonnie Anderson, superintendent of the 10-school Whitley County system, said officials there also called off school on Tuesday and Wednesday after attendance dipped to 85.1 percent Friday. School should be back in session on Thursday, Anderson said. He added that fall break begins Oct. 10 and lasts nine days - and he hopes students get the H1N1 vaccine during that time. The vaccine is not expected to be available until mid-October, however.
The focus on flu has prompted school systems across the state to closely monitor attendance. At Bowling Green Independent Schools, for example, spokeswoman Leslie Peek said the average districtwide attendance dropped to 91.5 percent last week, but was back up to 94 percent on Tuesday. She said officials are keeping a particularly close eye on the junior high school, which has been hardest-hit, with a 90 percent attendance rate on Tuesday.
In Jefferson County, spokeswoman Lauren Roberts said Tuesday that attendance was 93 percent districtwide, and "we're still hanging right in there."
Illness closes more Kentucky schools | Kentucky Enquirer | nky.com
At least four school districts in Kentucky have temporarily shut down because H1N1 flu and other illnesses have significantly reduced attendance.
.prWrap,.prWrap DIV,.prWrap IMG{margin:0px 0px 0px 0px;padding:0px 0px 0px 0px;border:0px 0px 0px 0px;overflow:visible;direction:ltr;background:none;background-color:transparent;}
In one school district straddling Hart and Barren counties, H1N1 flu and other illnesses sickened so many children that "classes of 25 had five kids sitting there," Superintendent Sam Dick said.
Caverna Independent Schools in Cave City, Whitley County in southeastern Kentucky, Taylor County in Central Kentucky and Todd County in southwestern Kentucky have all closed down. Jefferson County Public Schools, which have not been hit as hard, remain open.
Bishop Brossart High School in Alexandria reopened on Monday after being closed because of illness for four days last week.
Dick said his school system, which has about 800 students in three schools, was open Monday but was closed Tuesday and will remain so through Friday because of flu-like illnesses, a stomach bug and other ailments. He said attendance across the district was only 74 percent when officials decided to call off school - and even his 11-year-old daughter was out sick on Monday.
"Once a school system drops below 85 percent attendance," he said, "that warrants more severe action."
State health and school officials generally advise closing schools only when so many students and staff are absent that they can't conduct business. Health officials no longer track individual cases of H1N1 flu, but have classified flu in Kentucky as "widespread" - the highest level. Children are among the most vulnerable to the H1N1 virus.
"We are telling districts to use their best judgment and consider (U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) guidance on closings," said Lisa Y. Gross, spokeswoman for the Kentucky Department of Education. "...We have not issued any blanket recommendations."
According to the CDC, "school and health officials should work closely to balance the risks of flu in their community with the disruption dismissals will cause in both education and the wider community." If schools do dismiss students, the CDC says, they should do so for five to seven calendar days.
School dismissals in Caverna and Taylor County are happening before fall breaks, allowing extra time for children to recover from illness. In the four-school Taylor County system, school was called off Tuesday and Wednesday, and fall break starts on Thursday and runs until Oct. 12. Superintendent Roger Cook said systemwide attendance was down to 85 percent on Monday because of flu and other illnesses.
Lonnie Anderson, superintendent of the 10-school Whitley County system, said officials there also called off school on Tuesday and Wednesday after attendance dipped to 85.1 percent Friday. School should be back in session on Thursday, Anderson said. He added that fall break begins Oct. 10 and lasts nine days - and he hopes students get the H1N1 vaccine during that time. The vaccine is not expected to be available until mid-October, however.
The focus on flu has prompted school systems across the state to closely monitor attendance. At Bowling Green Independent Schools, for example, spokeswoman Leslie Peek said the average districtwide attendance dropped to 91.5 percent last week, but was back up to 94 percent on Tuesday. She said officials are keeping a particularly close eye on the junior high school, which has been hardest-hit, with a 90 percent attendance rate on Tuesday.
In Jefferson County, spokeswoman Lauren Roberts said Tuesday that attendance was 93 percent districtwide, and "we're still hanging right in there."
