What Worcester Central went through in mid-October, other local schools are dealing with now:
Flu-like symptoms from what’s likely H1N1—swine flu.
“We’re pretty healthy now,” Worcester Superintendent Gary Kuch said Friday.
“We recovered pretty well, and we’re back to normal.”
WCS closed for two days a couple of weeks ago when more than a third of the students were out with flu-related symptoms and other ailments.
About 20 students were out Friday, Mr. Kuch said; numbers in the teens are normal for the fall.
Cherry Valley Springfield Central School closed last Wednesday through Friday for the same reason; most other schools are still watching their numbers.
Cobleskill-Richmondville Central School Superintendent Lynn Macan said absence there seemed to have peaked mid-week, but by Friday, they’d dropped to about 15 percent of C-R’s student body; below 10 percent is considered typical for the fall.
Ms. Macan said there was no threat for C-R closing.
The district, she said, gauges closing on whether “quality teachers can come in and teach.
“Our real obligation is to teach the 85 percent of the kids who are here. The staff has been incredible, pulling together, covering for one another, helping each other, I think this is true for every district in New York.”
Pat Green, Sharon Springs Central superintendent, said he started seeing the flu hit there at the beginning of last week.
Attendance numbers at SSCS are usually 90-95 percent, he said.
Wednesday, they were at 90 percent, Thursday they dropped to 86 percent—but by Friday they were back to 88 percent.
Like Ms. Macan, Mr. green said any decision to close the school because of illness usually hinges on staff.
“We’ve been advised by State Ed that there is no magic number,” he said. “If we don’t have the staff…But we’ve been fortunate to this point.”
Doctors aren’t testing for H1NI in most people with the flu and even when they find it, Mr. Green said they aren’t notifying the schools.
“But we’ve been told we can pretty much assume it’s H1N1,” he said.
Things have also settled down in the Schoharie Valley.
Middleburgh High School Principal Lori Petrosino said absences there peaked at 128 on October 28 and were down to 63 by November 2, with 18 or 19 students out Friday.
Ms. Petrosino said the illnesses, which ranged from colds to stomach viruses—“A little bit of everything”—seemed to spread from the elementary school up through the grades, hitting staff last.
Things have also settled down at Schoharie Central School, said Superintendent Brian Sherman.
Mr. Sherman said there were a couple of suspected cases of H1N1 at SCS and he believes parents may have also kept their children home because of that.