Flu still sweeping through Valley schools

By OWEN BOSS
Staff Writer

NORTHAMPTON — When Cindy Mahoney’s eldest daughter came down with a fever last Thursday, she assumed the fever was a result of a rapidly spreading H1N1 virus.

Mahoney and her husband kept their sick daughter home from John F. Kennedy Middle School and stowed away in her bedroom, regularly delivering Motrin, Tylenol and stacks of DVDs to keep her occupied.

“We were fairly fortunate because she is healthy and involved in athletics, so she responded well to it,” Mahoney said.

Aside from closely monitoring her daughter’s symptoms to make sure she didn’t take an unexpected turn for the worse, Mahoney said ensuring that the illness didn’t spread throughout the rest of the family, including her 3- and 11-year-old daughters, was a difficult task.
“It just seemed to ripple right through her social scene at JFK,” Mahoney said.

Meanwhile, Mahoney’s middle daughter attends the Smith College Campus School, where a flu-like illness was making the rounds. A handful of this daughter’s soccer teammates stayed home from a game last weekend with flu-like symptoms, and she also had to scratch a birthday party she planned to attend because the guest of honor came down with the illness.

All three of her daughters, Mahoney said, received their seasonal flu vaccinations in September, and as soon as vaccines for H1N1 are available to the general public, she plans to have her entire family vaccinated.

Mahoney said her middle daughter noticed about three-quarters of sixth-graders at Campus School were out sick Monday, a significant increase from the previous week.

“I heard from a parent that out of 40 children in the grade that only about 14 were in school the other day,” Mahoney said, before adding that she felt entitled to a call from school administrators letting her know that there was an uptick in illness-related absences — a call she said she never received.

“If parents know what is happening at the school, they can be a little more vigilant,” she said.
Cathy Reid, the Campus School’s administrator, said only sixth-grade parents were notified via an email last weekend.
The outbreak among these students arose during a five-day Nature’s Classroom program in Andover, Conn., last week, during which the illness seemed to spread quickly among the children, who were living in cabins in very close quarters.

“Some of the students, unbeknownst to us because they weren’t showing any symptoms, went on the trip (and) were coming down with the flu. By the time the kids got home, there were a lot of them out sick,” Reid said.

The flu’s effect on the rest of the school has been minimal so far, but Reid said she expects many more cases in near future.

Easthampton

In Easthampton, the bug remains most prevalent at the private Williston Northampton School, where 30 of its 88 middle school students were absent last week before fall break. About 15 percent, or as many as 80 of Williston’s 530 students were out sick last week before the school’s annual long weekend commenced Saturday, prompting the school to cancel sports competitions Wednesday and middle school classes Friday.

The majority of illnesses last week were reported in Williston’s middle school, causing Director Sarah Kotwicki to close school Friday. Classes are to resume for all Williston students today.

Also affected is the public Maple Elementary School, according to Superintendent Deborah Carter, who said 30 percent of approximately 263 students are out sick.

Amherst

In Amherst, the focus of concern shifted Tuesday from the Regional Middle School to Fort River Elementary School, where 86 out of 450 students, or 19 percent, were absent.

Middle school absenteeism, which peaked at 123 Friday, or over 25 percent, fell back to 78 Tuesday. At Amherst Regional High School, it was holding steady at 152 absent (12 percent) Tuesday. Other schools saw no significant increase in absenteeism, said Debbie Westmoreland, the superintendent’s assistant.

An absentee rate of 5 percent is considered typical.

The schools are screening for fever and flu symptoms, increasing the distance between people, and considering closures if “abstenteeism among either students or staff makes it impossible to function adequately,” high school and middle school Principal Mark Jackson wrote in a letter that parents will receive today.

Hadley

Hadley Superintendent Nicholas Young said about 10 percent of students were absent Monday, while 4 percent is typical, he said. Although some strep throat has been going around, flu is suspected as the main reason for what he called “an outbreak.”

In a letter delivered Tuesday, Young urged parents to keep children home when they are sick, and make plans for who will stay with them or pick them up if they have to leave school. He said the schools are increasing the level of cleaning and making more hand sanitizers available.

Young said he hopes to be able to provide vaccinations in December, but parents shouldn’t wait until then if they have other opportunities.

Deerfield

Officials at Frontier Regional School in South Deerfield reported 100 students absent Tuesday out of student body of 705 students, numbers that are usually not seen until February.
“Normally we have 29 to 30 absent,” said Principal Martha Barrett of her grade seven-through-12 middle and high school. “They are flu-related; we are making the assumption that everyone has the flu.”

“We’re concerned but not overly concerned,” she said. “Our nurses did a very good job informing parents, students and faculty about precautions.”

To return after an illness, “A student must be temperature-free for 24 hours without taking a medication to keep a fever down,” said Barrett.

Mohawk Trail Regional High School

On Tuesday, Mohawk Trail Regional High School in Buckland had 160 students absent out of a student body of 600 in grades 7 through 12.

“Starting this week, we’re starting to see an increase in absences,” said Susan Mitchell, nursing supervisor for the district. “It’s hard to say if they are all out for flu-like symptoms.”

These figures follow a jam-packed Booster Day Week and weekend, when officials always expect more absences. However, these figures are notably higher than the 60 to 70 students absent that typically follow Booster Week, she said.

PVPA

“There’s definitely a big spike in absences, and at least half are due to flu-like symptoms,” said Mimi Whitcomb, school nurse at Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Charter Public School.
About 12 percent of the 400 students were absent Tuesday, about twice the typical number, Whitcomb said. The school has begun asking parents of absent students about their child’s symptoms, and 24 of the 48 students absent reported flu-like symptoms. Seven students’ families could not be reached.

If the absentee rate continues to climb, she and the school administration will consult with infectious disease experts on whether to close the school, Whitcomb said.
South Hadley

The absentee rate for South Hadley students jumped to 13 percent Monday, said Superintendent of Schools Gus Sayer, although it is not known how many of those students have flu-like symptoms.

“That’s certainly far from the number we would take any action on,” he said, such as closing schools. The issue would become more serious if so many members of the staff are out that the educational process suffers, he said.

The absentee rate usually holds steady at 5 percent, which it did until last week, Sayer said.
Cummington

Berkshire Trail Regional Elementary School Principal Laura Dumouchel said there were flu-related absences, but declined further comment. “Yes, we have flu, we have absences,” said Dumouchel.

Calls to the Central Berkshire Regional District’s Acting Superintendent James Stankiewicz were not returned by press time.

Gazette writers Laura Rodley, Nick Grabbe, Stephen C. Hill and Catherine Baum contributed to this story.