Knowing when to keep your child home from school due to illness can sometimes be a difficult decision. Much depends on what type of symptoms your child has. When making this decision, please keep in mind the following guidelines (this includes the guideline for the COVID-19 illness):
Keep your child at home if any one of the following occurs:
- Vomiting within the last 24 hours
- Diarrhea within the last 24 hours
- Temperature of 100 degrees F or higher within the last 24 hours without anti fever medication
- Strep is suspected, but results of the culture have not been confirmed
- Positive throat culture for strep, student may return 24 hours after antibiotic treatment has begun
- Positive COVID-19 test, student may return 24 hours after test result if symptoms improving and no fever for 24 hours, masking recommended
- Any symptoms of acute illness such as persistent cough, runny nose with body aches
Your child should be able to control nasal secretions with proper use of tissues. If there is a cough, it should be infrequent and not likely to be disruptive to the class. Your child should feel that he/she could get through the planned school day without exclusion from outdoor recess or gym.
Your child should look and behave like him/herself for 24 hours before returning to school. Why?
- To protect your child from exposure to more infection before he/she is able to build resistance.
- To protect the other children and staff from communicable disease transmission
*If you have symptoms consistent with the COVID-19 virus or have tested positive for COVID-19, it is strongly recommended that you wear a face mask for at least 5 days upon return to school.
Remember- HAND WASHING is the most effective means of preventing the spread of communicable diseases!
To help prevent the spread of illness at school, please report all communicable illnesses (i.e., strep throat, bacterial infections, COVID-19, etc.) to your school nurse. Please call your child’s school nurse if you have any questions or if you need help determining whether your child is well enough to attend school.
