Flu bug taking bite out of school attendance

By LESLIE STRADER / Staff Writer

The flu bug has taken a big bite out of the attendance rolls at Abilene schools.

Since school resumed for the spring semester January 7, many local schools, especially the elementaries, have reported significant numbers of absences because of illness for both teachers and students.

But most of the schools believe the worst is over for now. Just this week, many students have been returning to class after being gone anywhere from three to six days.

"Teachers, students, the principal - everybody here's been sick. It's that time of year," Thomas Elementary principal Bill Walker said. "The nurse has done a great job; she's really been earning her pay check lately.

"But we're recovering. I really feel like we're getting better. If it would get warm and stay warm, I think it would help."

Lee Elementary secretary Brenda Brown keeps up with attendance and said that campus has had a "tremendous amount of illness."

"And the students who've had the flu have had the lingering kind. It's taken them six to eight days to get rid of it,"she said.

Lee nurse Janice Wadlington said she's seen a lot of high temperatures and stomach viruses.

"They stay home a few days, and then their brother and sister get it," she said. "I see parents come up to get their kids, and they are really dragging."

But Wadlington said she sent home fewer students Thursday than she has in weeks. The next round of illness, she predicted, will be chicken pox.

Taylor Elementary assistant principal Jim Franks said the flu seems to be easing up on his students, too. Absences were high mid-January, he said; one day, a third-grade class was missing 12 of 23 students.

"That's not the way it was for the whole school, though," he said. "It's gone down the last few days, but I wouldn't be surprised if we had another period where it escalated again."

Up until this week, Franklin Middle School was missing between 49 and 131 students since classes resumed. Attendance clerk Judy Polk said most of the absences have occurred since the inclement weather day January 14.

Trish Jones, junior attendance clerk at Abilene High, said about 250 students have been out several days last week and this week, and they stay gone three to five days.

"And now several of them have relapsed because they came back too soon," she said.

AHS associate principal Janet Parkey said teachers haven't been out so much for personal illness as for family illness.

"They're taking care of their children," she said. "It's not hit us as hard as it's hit the elementaries. As I understand it, there's been quite a few absences districtwide."

Miki Roberts, receptionist for the Professional Association for Pediatrics, said patients are coming in mostly with the flu, upper respiratory infections and strep throat.

"We have been exceptionally busy," she said. "But the doctors are doing really good as far as getting all (the patients) in."

Wadlington advised the best thing to do to prevent getting sick is to wash your hands, drinks lots of fluid and get plenty of rest to keep your resistance up.

And, if you do have fever, she said, go to the doctor as soon as you can.