St. Louis Academy Sick Child Policy
The following illness policies will be strictly enforced, for the health, well-being and safety of all concerned.
Sick Child Policy: Most healthcare professionals recommend that sick children stay home until they’re well enough to go back to school. This is typically about 24 hours after symptoms begin to improve. In some cases, however, it can be difficult to determine whether your child is well enough to return to school. Consider the following signs as you make your decision.
If the child shows any signs of illness (see below SYMPTOMS REQUIRING REMOVING OF CHILD FROM SCHOOL), or is unable to participate in the normal routine and regular day school day, the child should remain home from school. Sick children will expose all children and staff members they come into contact with to the illnesses they have. Please be mindful that we do not have a nurse station or sick room, and other children may become ill due to exposure to your sick child, either because he/she was returned to school before full recovery or because he/she was not picked up promptly upon notice of becoming ill. Because this is disruptive to other children and their families, your cooperation on this issue is extremely important.
In the event a child becomes ill and needs to be picked up, the parent(s) will be called and are expected to come pick the child up within one hour (60 minutes). If the parent(s) cannot be reached, or have not arrived within an hour, the emergency contact person will be called and asked to come pick the child up. In the event a child complains about not feeling well during the school day, the parent will be contacted. If the child complains of not feeling well and he/she has other symptoms, the parent will be expected to come and pick up the child.
Symptoms requiring removal of child from school:
- Fever: Fever is defined as having a temperature of 100°F or higher. A child needs to be fever free for a minimum of 24 hours before returning to school, that means the child is fever free without the aid of Tylenol®, or any other fever reducing substance.
- Sore throat, rash, vomiting, diarrhea, earache, irritability, or confusion- any combination of these symptoms WITH OR WITHOUT A FEVER.
- Diarrhea.
- IF YOUR CHID HAS A BLOW OUT AT SCHOOL AT ANY TIME, HE OR SHE MAY NOT RETURN THE FOLLOWING SCHOOL DAY.
- Vomiting. Note: please do not bring your child if they have vomited in the night
- IF YOUR CHILD THROWS UP AT SCHOOL AT ANY TIME, HE OR SHE MAY NOT RETURN THE FOLLOWING SCHOOL DAY.
- Earaches, stomachaches, headaches, and body aches- any combination of these symptoms WITH OR WITHOUT A FEVER. This means that they can easily spread the virus to other children, so it’s best to keep them home until any pain or discomfort has disappeared.
- Breathing trouble, sore throat, swollen glands, loss of voice, hacking or continuous coughing, or if a child complains of pain when taking deep breaths- any combination of these symptoms WITH OR WITHOUT A FEVER.
- Frequent scratching of body or scalp, lice, rash, or any other spots that resemble childhood diseases, including ringworm.
- Child is irritable, continuously crying, or requires more attention than we can provide without compromising the health, safety or well-being of the other children in our care- any combination of these symptoms WITH OR WITHOUT A FEVER.
