Is Dist. 25 prepared for H1N1? Superintendent, parent disagrees

Arlington Heights Elementary District 25 is on track in preparing for any outbreak of H1N1 influenza, or swine flu, said Superintendent Sarah Jerome.

Jerome was responding to complaints by a parent who chairs PTA committees at South Middle and Windsor schools.

The parent, Bonnie Graham, said District 25 should require students to wash their hands before lunch. In general, she thinks the district lags behind other suburban districts in preparing for the predicted epidemic.

Parent communications from District 25 have focused on what parents should do rather than what the schools are doing, said Graham.

"We're behind. We pride ourselves on being a cutting edge school district," said Graham. "I want a good, safe, hygenic environment prepared for a virus that's going to hit with a bang."

Jerome, however, said she would not make handwashing mandatory, adding she trusts that her staff knows that hand washing or sanitizing before meals is important.

Her letter to parents and the community was approved by an official of the Cook County Health Department, and the district is working closely with that office and the Arlington Heights Health Department, she added.

In it, Jerome states that District 25 is trying to "maintain a high degree of normalcy," and she reiterated in an interview that children should think of school as a normal, safe and healthy place.

Graham argues that the coming epidemic is not a "normal" situation.

"It should not be communicated (or) prioritized as such," Graham added.

Jerome said District 25 had four or five cases of H1N1 influenza last school year and has made "more preparations to deal with something predicted to be bigger than last year."

More hand sanitizing stations than last year are or will be set up in areas that do not have sinks, said Jerome.

Banners will be hung in each school, children with symptoms will be kept in the nurse's offices until parents pick them up, and janitors will daily wipe surfaces such as desktops, tabletops and water fountains with a disinfectant, she added.