• I have a lot of parents question when they should keep their student home from school.  Here are a few things to keep in mind when deciding.  As always, please feel free to call with any questions.

    Fever- Parents must keep their children home with a fever 100 degrees or higher.  Students must be fever free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication before returning to school.  If a child develops a fever over 100 degrees at school, parents will be called and must arrange to pick the student up from school.

    Strep throat- If a child is diagnosed with strep throat, students must be on antibiotics for 24 hours before returning to school, as well as be fever free for 24 hours without fever-reducing medications.  If your child is seen in nurse's office with symptoms of strep throat, parents will be called as well.

    Vomiting- Please keep children home until they are vomit free for 24 hours.  If a child vomits while at school, parents will be called to take the student home.

    Diarrhea- Keep your child home if they are having diarrhea more than once.  If it occurs at school, they may be sent home as well.

    Pink Eye- No exclusion, unless the child has a fever or is not healthy enough to participate in routine activities.  If the eye is extremely bothersome, parents may be called to come and get their child and potentially seek medical advice.

    Head lice- Students do not need to be sent home if head lice or nits are found.  We do ask that treatment be started the same day it is found, and repeated in 7-10 days to ensure all lice and nits are killed.  If you find your child has lice, please notify the nurse so a letter can be sent home to students in that class/grade as needed.  No names will be used in the letter. Remind children to avoid sharing brushes, hats, pony holders, headbands ect.  Although typically students will not be sent home due to head lice, it is up to the nurse's discretion if a child will need to go home, depending on the severity of the lice/nits.

    Rash- If your child has an unexplained rash, your child should be seen by a medical provider to rule out any contagious diseases/illnesses before coming back to school. 

    Frequent symptoms- Sometimes children pretend or exaggerate illness in order to stay home. However, frequent complaints of tummy aches, headaches and other symptoms may be a physical sign that a child is feeling emotionally stressed, a common experience even in children. Consult a medical provider to evaluate symptoms. Stress-based complaints cause some children to unnecessarily miss a great deal of school. It is important to check often with your children about how things are going. Share concerns with school staff so they can provide support for you and your child to help make attending school a positive experience.

    Keep in mind that any absences over 10 days will need a physician's note to be excused.  If you do take your child to the clinic, ask for a letter for school and they can fax one or you can send it with your child the next day.

    If your child becomes ill at school, please have plans/backup plans to have them picked up within 30 minutes as we do not have the space to hold ill students without exposing others to illness as well as ill students will feel best when resting at home. 

    Again, this is a guideline.  There may be other things that come up, if you question if your child should be sent to school, feel free to call first.  I am in the office 7:30-3:30 Monday-Friday.