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As we enter the fall season, this is a time when illnesses like colds, flu, and other respiratory viruses tend to spread more easily. To help prevent the spread of illness within our school community please follow these important guidelines:
Situations when your child should stay home:
- Fever of 100 degrees or more. The student should stay home for 24 hours after their temperature returns to normal without the use of fever reducing medication.
- Vomiting/diarrhea more than twice in the preceding 24 hours. Stay home until 24 hours after the last episode.
- Any uncontrolled cough, respiratory virus symptoms that are worsening or not improving and not better explained by another cause such as seasonal allergies *
- Rash with a fever and/or unknown cause. Check with your family physician/clinic before your student returns to school.
- If feeling ill/unwell and the student is unable to fully participate in school activities.
CDC Respiratory Virus Guidelines: Respiratory virus symptoms can include fever, chills, fatigue, cough, runny nose, and headache, among others. The guidance for common respiratory illnesses (flu, COVID, RSV) is to stay home for 24 hours until both:
- Your symptoms are getting better, and
- You have not had a fever without taking fever-reducing medication.
Practice Good Hygiene:
- Remind your children to wash their hands frequently with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.
- Encourage them to cover their coughs and sneezes with a tissue or their elbow and avoid touching their face.
Vaccinations:
- Keep your child up-to-date with vaccinations to reduce the risk of contracting vaccine preventable diseases and prevent serious illness.
Lice
Head lice are a common problem in school aged children. It can take several weeks for a head lice infestation to be apparent. School breaks can be a time when many children are exposed to head lice visiting friends and family. Anyone can get lice and it is not a sign of being dirty. Although head lice do not jump they can spread easily with head to head contact and by sharing items like hats, brushes/combs, and pillows. Head lice do not cause disease in humans.
When a child is identified with an active head lice infestation at school, parents will be notified and provided with information about treatment. Students should be treated before returning to school.
Please see the MDH fact sheets about lice which include information about identifying nits/lice and treatment. Parents are encouraged to check their children’s heads for lice on a regular basis throughout the year.
Communicable Disease Alerts
Pertussis (Whooping Cough)
There is currently an outbreak of Pertussis (Whooping Cough) in Hennepin County and cases have been reported in our school district community. Pertussis can be a serious bacterial disease. The first symptoms of pertussis may be similar to a cold - runny nose, sneezing, mild cough, and possibly a mild fever. After a week or two, the cough worsens and may occur in sudden, uncontrollable bursts. Sometimes coughing will lead to vomiting or a high-pitched whoop sound when breathing in.
Stay home and contact your healthcare provider if you have a cough and have had contact with someone with pertussis or have been coughing for 7 days or longer.
Most children have been vaccinated for pertussis, but protection can decrease over time. People who have completed some or all of the recommended vaccinations for pertussis may still get pertussis disease but will generally have a milder illness. Now is a good time to make sure your child is up to date on pertussis vaccines.
MDH Pertussis Fact Sheet
Measles
There is currently a measles outbreak in Minnesota. The outbreak began in May 2024. It is primarily affecting unvaccinated children in the Twin Cities metro area. However, anyone who is not up to date on their measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine is at risk of getting measles.
The MMR vaccine is safe and extremely effective at protecting kids, families and the entire community. Unvaccinated people exposed to measles need to stay home and away from others (quarantine) for 21 days.
MDH Measles Fact Sheet
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