“The message right now is that school is the best place for a healthy child. If you are sick, stay home.”
“The message right now is that school is the best place for a healthy child. If you are sick, stay home.” That’s the message that JoAnn Allen, Student Support Services Coordinator for Santa Cruz County’s Office of Education, is trying to get out to parents this year at the start of the school year. While CNN reports that the H1N1 virus could affect as much as half of the U.S. population, education officials are calling on parents to keep their sick kids at home, rather than letting them infect their classmates. One of the problems schools face is that nursing services have been reduced drastically throughout the school district, largely because of budgetary cuts. Faced with the possibility that many students will end up staying at home if the epidemic spreads, the school district is also encouraging teachers to prepare lesson units that can be done at home, so that the kids don’t fall behind. Read more at the Santa Cruz Sentinel.
