H1N1 Flu  - The AAPS Response and What Families Can Do To Prepare

Dear AAPS Families:

As you may know, seasonal flu and the H1N1 flu can be easily spread from person to person. Therefore, we are taking steps to reduce the spread of flu in the Ann Arbor Public Schools. We want to keep the schools in this district open to students and functioning in a normal manner during the flu season. We need your help to do this.

We are working closely with the Washtenaw County Department of Public Health, the Centers for Disease Control and the Department of Education to monitor flu conditions and make decisions about the best steps to take concerning schools. We are preparing now and ask that you prepare with your family as well. We will keep you updated with new information as it becomes available. Please make sure your school has accurate contact information including home phone number, cell phone numbers and emails so that we can communicate to you in a variety of formats.

Under the guidance of the Washtenaw County Department of Public Health and the Centers for Disease Control we are developing a response plan to address the handling of the flu in students and staff as well as an educational plan if the flu becomes severe. The key to this plan is to prevent the spread so that we can contain the viru

• Educate staff and students to cover their mouth and nose with a tissue or upper arm when coughing and sneezing
• Post colorful posters with flu prevention tips in every school
• Practice good hand hygiene in every classroom ensuring all sinks have soap and classrooms without sinks have hand sanitizer
• We will send sick students and staff members home until the person has a fever of less than 100 degrees for 24 hours
• We will move students and staff who become ill at school with the flu symptoms into a separate room until they are able to be picked up and leave school
• Surfaces such as desks, doorknobs, and door handles will be cleaned following CDC protocol. Remember, this is mainly an air-born transmitted virus
• Work with students and staff who are in the high-risk category or immune suppressed to seek medical assistance and encourage them to stay home if illness is present in their classroom(s)
• Stay in frequent communication with local public health officials
• Develop educational plans for continuity of instruction in case of extended absences or school closings.  Plans will be available on the district and school websites

One of the most important things you can do to help keep our schools open and operating as usual is to develop a family plan to address any illness that requires your student to remain home.

• Teach your children to wash their hands often with soap and water or an alcohol based hand sanitizer. Include small containers of hand sanitizer in their backpacks.
• Teach your children not to share personal items such as drinks, food, and unwashed utensils and to cover their cough and sneeze with tissue or the side of their arm.
• Know the signs and symptoms of the flu which 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.

PLEASE KEEP YOUR CHILD AT HOME IF THEY ARE SICK for at least 24 hours after they no longer have a fever or do not have signs of a fever without using a fever-reducing drug. Keeping children with a fever home will reduce the number of people who may get infected. It may take up to 7 days for the illness to subside.

For more information the district and school websites (www.a2schools.org) will have a direct link to current information on H1N1 including a link to the Washtenaw County Public Health school portal: http://www.ewashtenaw.org/government/departments/public_health/school_portal/index2_html

You can also visit the CDC site for current information www.flu.gov or call 1-800-CDC-INFO.

We will notify you of any additional changes to our district’s strategy to prevent the spread of the H1N1 flu virus.  Thank you for your cooperation in helping us prepare for H1N1 and minimizing its impact on the education of our students this school year.

Sincerely,

Todd Roberts
Superintendent