just watch what happens as the football season progresses..no playoffs to much travel and exposure! it's a new time to prepare for!

It's one thing to ask sick children to stay home. It's quite another to have them try to make up a week of junior high or high school.

We kept our sick teens home last spring, and for our efforts we had three weeks of grief trying to work with unrelenting teachers who stood defiantly behind the late policies "as outlined in their disclosure documents." No compassion, no common sense and straight A kids who barely passed some of their classes. It was ridiculous!

We will think twice before we allow our children to recouperate at home. Once they're feeling up to it, we will encourage them to return to class and hack all over their classmates.

I'm just kidding, but REALLY! Somehow we've got to work together to make it easier for contagious people to stay away from the healthy ones, without devastating long term consequences. My high schooler's report card was a train wreck, and not for lack of sincere effort to put things in order.

There's my rant for the day...

The school my daughter attends is prepared for swine flu. School will be held by computer in the event of an epidemic. Skype is good.

and I will also add that keeping sick kids home can bring a truant officer to your house.

Part of the NCLB, at least how it is interpreted by us, is that at 5 days absence the school calls at 10 days absence the social workers make a home visit. It doesn't matter if you are excused by a dr. or even if surgery was involved. Brains are checked at the door and common sense is out the window with schools.

frustrated...i am also when kids throw up in my room on other students, cough and spit all over the place,can't lift their heads up.....but if the kids were gone two weeks and then you had them make up work....that is really frustrating. have the councelors get missed work so they can do it at home. i don't know what district you are in but in granite the make-up for illness is pretty clear. also, if you have dr. notes, that helps clear up the abs. i am a parent also and have seen both sides. we all need to work together and if work is sent home, make certain they do it and hand it in... that is another problem.

I had proof of a major surgery and that was not good enough for the school...nasty phone calls to get my child back in school. Again, they check their brains at the door...common sense is no longer common. The surgeon faxed the principal and then I finally had slight peace because they still insisted that at day 10 the social worker would be notified.

its actually kind of dumb, schools say that they are prepared for the swine flu but dont see that at all. My childs school had installed this hand sanitizer machines in each classroom. Sounds good? except they forgot one thing.. to actually fill the machine up with hand sanitizer. Its just there, contains nothing. Whats the point of installing it when theres no use??

Four years ago my daughter got sick with the regular flu, followed by another illness. I panicked, and kept trying to get her to do her homework even though she was still feverish and fatigued.
The impact of that stressed-out three weeks has been ongoing. It impacted her confidence in returning, filled her with fear, and made her feel less than adequate even though being sick wasn't her choice.
The pressure I felt to help her keep up only ended up hurting her.
Last year, I got a warning notice about my kindergartner's 7 absences, even though every absence had been my attempt to help him get well, and others from getting sick.
We need a balance -- online sounds great, Georgia!!!

I find it hilarious how it is recommended that teachers have more space between desks. This won't work in Utah because school districts still build classrooms to accommodate no more than 25 students, but pack 40 into them.

Everyone making these comments here and on other sites needs to visit the CDC and other Health Organization sites and learn what works and what does not. I am not a doctor or health care professional but I work for a medical supplier and we are required to stay well read and know medical products as well as many of us are certified in various emergency areas like EMS, CERT, along with first aid and CPR instructors. Anyway the point it much of this is like the silly stuff after 9/11 that people were doing to make themselves feel safer. Spreading the desks apart will do nothing. Masks are for helping people who are sick from spreading viruses, they do little to nothing to protect you from getting it. Most hand sanitizers do next to nothing. The 99.99 that most of them kill only lasts seconds and kill our bodies natural defenses. You need 99.999 or greater and only a few products create barriers and lasting protection. Search for Dephyze for example, washing hands with soap and water often does help if it's done right, most don't. Do your own research, prepare and relax.