Communication Tools About Flu for School Administrators

January 4, 2010 10:30 AM ET

Template letter or email for parents about steps the school is taking during current flu conditions.

Coordinate efforts with your local health department and county or state education agency prior to distributing this letter or email communication to ensure that all information is timely, relevant, and accurate. Visit Flu.gov to download and adapt a Microsoft Word version of this letter and for more flu information to share withparents.

 

Dear Parent,

As you may know, flu can be easily spread from person to person. Therefore, we are taking steps to reduce the spread of flu in [School name]. We want to keep the school open to students and functioning in a normal manner during this flu season. But, we need your help to do this.

We are working closely with the [county/state education agency] and the [county/state] health department to monitor flu conditions and make decisions about the best steps to take concerning schools. We will keep you updated with new information as it becomes available.

If the flu becomes more severe, we may take additional steps to prevent the spread such as:

• conducting active fever and flu symptom screening of students and staff as they arrive at school,
• making changes to increase the space between people such as moving desks farther apart and postponing class trips, and
• dismissing students from school for at least 7 days if they become sick.

For now we are doing everything we can to keep our school functioning as usual. Here are a few things you can do to help.

• Teach your children to wash their hands often with soap and water or an alcohol-based hand rub. You can set a good example by doing this yourself.

• Teach your children not to share personal items like drinks, food or unwashed utensils, and to cover their coughs and sneezes with tissues. Covering up their coughs or sneezes using the elbow, arm or sleeve instead of the hand when a tissue is unavailable.

• Know the signs and symptoms of the flu. Symptoms of the flu include fever (100 degrees Fahrenheit, 37.8 degrees Celsius or greater), cough, sore throat, a runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, and feeling very tired. Some people may also vomit or have diarrhea.

• Keep sick children at home for at least 24 hours after they no longer have fever or do not have signs of fever, without using fever-reducing drugs.  Keeping children with a fever at home will reduce the number of people who may get infected.

• Do not send children to school if they are sick. Any children who are determined to be sick while at school will be sent home.

For more information, [see the attached flyer/additional information and] and visit Flu.gov, or call 1-800-CDC-INFO for the most current information about the flu. For more information about flu in our community and what our school is doing, visit [school/health department website] or call [appropriate phone number]. We will notify you of any additional changes to our school’s strategy to prevent the spread of flu.

Sincerely,

[School administrator’s name and signature]