When To Keep Your Student Home From School
WHEN TO KEEP YOUR STUDENT HOME FROM SCHOOL WITH ILLNESS
Sometimes it can be difficult for caregivers to decide whether to send children to school when they wake up with symptoms of an illness or complaints that they do not feel well. During the COVID-19 pandemic and cold/flu/allergy season, the decision-making process has become more complicated. Here is a general guideline to follow for keeping your child home for a day to rest or to arrange for an appointment with your health care provider. (Also see specific COVID-19 guidelines below.)
The following are situations that warrant watching, keeping your student home, and/or calling your health care provider:
Vomiting and diarrhea
Fever greater than 100.0° orally, including a fever that requires control with
medication such as Tylenol
Cough that makes a child feel uncomfortable or continually disrupts the class
Sore throat that is severe along with fever and feeling ill for more than 48 hours
Honey-crusted sores around the nose or mouth; an unidentified rash OR a significant rash accompanied by other symptoms of illness such as fever
Red, runny eyes that distract the child from learning
A large amount of discolored nasal discharge, especially if accompanied by facial pain, fever, or headache
Severe ear pain or drainage from the ear
Headache if accompanied by fever
Any condition that you think may be serious or contagious to others.
Please keep your child home for 24 hours after a fever, vomiting, or diarrheal illness, and/or after contagious illnesses such as strep throat to avoid infecting others. It is recommended that individuals receive a negative PCR or antigen test result for COVID-19 before returning to school if experiencing COVID-19 symptoms. An antigen test may be self-administered at home and reported to the school nurse. In the case of upper respiratory viral illness, best practice would also include wearing a mask until symptoms are fully resolved when returning to school.
If you are interested in having your student participate in the free, home COVID-19 testing program, please send me an email and they will be added to the list.
COVID-19 Symptoms and Guidelines for Unvaccinated Students and Staff
Unvaccinated out of school close contacts to COVID-19 positive individuals need to stay home and quarantine for 5 days; notify your school nurse for further instruction. If your student tests positive for COVID-19, refer to the link below and notify your school nurse.
Symptoms of COVID-19 may include:
fever, chills, cough (not due to other chronic causes), sore throat when in combination with other symptoms, body aches, new loss of taste or smell, shortness of breath
nausea, vomiting and diarrhea when in combination with other symptoms
headache, fatigue, and/or runny nose (not due to other causes such as allergies) when in combination with other symptoms
As stated in Protocol “A” in the DESE COVID-19 protocols, individuals testing positive for COVID-19 must self-isolate for a minimum of 5 days after symptom onset or date of a positive test. Positive individuals may return to school after 5 days and once they have been without fever for 24 hours and experienced an improvement in other symptoms. Following the 5-day isolation period, the individual must wear a mask for 5 additional days when around others, other than when eating, drinking, or outside. Please notify the school nurse for specific instructions regarding return to school.
Remember, whenever you keep your child home from school, please call or email the school nurse or office at hatherlysafetoschool@scit.org in advance of the start of the school day and leave a message that your child will be absent and the reason for the absence. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation. Please call or email me with any questions at jjones@scit.org.
Jessica Jones, MEd, BSN, RN
Hatherly School Nurse
Phone: 781-545-8780
Hatherly School
Email: jward@scit.org
Website: hatherly.scituate.k12.ma.us/
Location: 72 Ann Vinal Road, Scituate, MA, USA
Phone: (781) 545-8780
Twitter: @HatherlySchool
