By Andrew Hackmack
Valley Stream Central High School District Superintendent Dr. Marc Bernstein said that on Tuesday, about 8 percent of students were absent, which is double the normal absentee rate. It-s somewhat higher because there-s still a lot of illness out there, he said.
There were eight confirmed cases of swine flu at Memorial, which is why Bernstein made the decision to close school. He said it was likely that parents would keep their children home as a precaution, resulting in two disrupted school days.
Students at Memorial will not have to make up the days. We have enough days in our calendar to accommodate the days we were closed, Bernstein said.
Three elementary schools in Valley Stream also had confirmed cases, and those building had high absentee rates last week. Forest Road, where more than 100 of less than 300 students stayed home last Wednesday and Thursday, had only 31 out on Tuesday. Many parents chose to keep their children home last week as a precaution. District 30 Superintendent Dr. Elaine Kanas said on Tuesday that only three of the 31 absent students stayed home for that reason.
Kanas added that the district followed the county Department of Health-s guidelines on cleaning the building to prevent the spread of H1N1. This included paying additional attention to door handles, desks, cafeteria tables, bathrooms and hallway walls, cleaning them with more aggressive disinfectants.
Though Kanas acknowledged the criticism of some parents for not closing the school, she defended the decision to follow the guidance of the health department.
At the Robert W. Carbonaro School in District 24, about 50 percent of students were absent last Thursday. When school re-opened on Tuesday, about 10 percent were still not in school.
Lisa Pellicane, co-president of the PTA, said she kept her children home both days last week after it was announced there was a confirmed case of swine flu at the school. It-s not that my kids are never sick, she said. It-s just that if something is there, I don-t want to take a chance.
Pellicane said she and some other parents were upset that the administration did not close the school, but she acknowledged its efforts to keep parents well-informed about the situation. She said the bigger outrage was the parents who chose to send their kids to school when they were sick.
Ray Mohamed, PTA president at Howell Road School, which also had a confirmed case, sent his two children to school both days. He said that when he spoke to other parents, some said they were concerned and others said they weren-t. Many felt comfortable that the four-day weekend would halt any possible spread of the virus. If it wasn-t a long weekend, I don-t know what the reaction would be, Mohamed said.
District 13 Superintendent Dr. Elizabeth Lison said that the long weekend gave the custodial crews time to do some extra cleaning, focusing on faucets, handrails and doorknobs.
Lison said that attendance at Howell Road School was back up on Tuesday, with only 40 students absent out of almost 550. Last Thursday, 246 missed school. While some parents called last week to express their concern that the school was not closed, she said, there were even more calls from parents asking about the symptoms they should be looking for.
A presentation and question-and-answer session with officials from the Nassau County Department of Health is scheduled for Thursday night at 7 p.m. at the Shaw Avenue School. All parents are invited to attend.
Comments about this story? AHackmack@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 265
