Our goal is to maintain a happy, healthy educational environment. Regular attendance is an important part of your child’s educational stability and success. However, elementary school is a time when our children are building up their immune systems by being exposed to the many different common childhood pathogens (viruses/bacteria). We understand that children will frequently “catch” these illnesses and that it may be difficult to decide when to keep them home from school for a few days. In order to help you determine when they should stay home please refer to the following.

When a student presents any one of the following symptoms during the night or in the morning, he/she should be kept home: 

• Fever (100 or greater): can return once fever free for 24 hours without the use of medications.
• Persistent coughing (coughing that disrupts learning for student and peers): can return when cough is controlled with sips of water or limited cough drops.
• Vomiting (within the last 24 hours): can return when free from vomiting for 24 hours and after successfully eating 2 solid meals.
• Diarrhea (within the last 24 hours): can return when free from diarrhea for 24 hours.
• Rash (body rash with itching and/or fever): can return when free from itching and/or has been evaluated by a doctor. 
• Head lice (itching active head lice): can return after appropriate lice treatment.
• Eye infections (redness, itching, crust and/or drainage from eye): can return once evaluated and cleared by doctor, must have a note from doctor.

The length of time that children must remain home with the following diseases, providing there are no complications, is: 

1. Chickenpox – must remain out until all lesions are dried or crusted.
2. Strep Throat/Tonsillitis – must remain out 24 hours from the time antibiotic from a health care provider is started. 
3. Scarlet Fever/Scarletina – must remain out 24 hours from the time an antibiotic from a health care provider is started. 
4. Conjunctivitis (pink eye) – must remain out until there is no discharge from the eye, but at least 24 hours after antibiotic eye drops are started. 
5. Impetigo – must remain out 24 hours from the time appropriate treatment has begun. 
6. Hand, foot, and mouth – fever free for 24 hrs, lesions dry/ scabbing, no new lesions for 24hrs. 
7. Scabies – must remain out until completion of appropriate treatment as ordered by a health care provider. 
8. Ringworm – must remain out until appropriate medical treatment has begun. 
9. German/3 Day Measles (Rubella) – 4 days from onset of rash x. Mumps – until temperature and swelling disappears 
10. Measles – four days from onset of rash 
11. Whooping Cough (Pertussis) – three weeks from onset or 5 days from institution of appropriate antimicrobial therapy. 
12. Influenza – until fully recovered.

Please understand that we are sympathetic to how difficult it may be to keep a child home for a few days or to visit their pediatrician. However, when children are not feeling well, they have a harder time focusing on school and they would benefit most from a few days of rest. Our goal is to make sure that your child is provided with the best environment for learning. Thank you for partnering with us to create a happy, healthy learning environment.