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Marshalltown schools report low sickness rate

Tool-Crawford

While Marshalltown has endured sub-zero temperatures and freezing rain in recent weeks, students enrolled in the Marshalltown School District are generally staying in good health.

“According to all the school nurses, there haven’t been any high reports of illness, and no increased incidences of absences for specific illnesses in the district,” said District Nurse/Marshalltown High School Nurse Stacey Tool-Crawford.

She said the most common ailment reported lately to the school nurses are reports of stomach flu-like symptoms, including, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.

“However, those are not in epidemic proportions,” Tool-Crawford said.

These sicknesses are mainly affecting children at the elementary school level — pre-k through fourth grade.

“Younger kids don’t always remember to cover their coughs or wash hands, but the teachers in the district are really good about reminding them. We also supply hand sanitizer in almost every classroom in the district,” Tool-Crawford said.

While many kids this time of year come to school with the sniffles, Tool-Crawford said when an illness gets to the point of constant coughing or a student can’t concentrate because of how he/she is feeling, then that is an indicator the child should go home.

“When a fever is 100.4 degrees or higher, we would like students to stay home. The temperature should be below that point for 24 hours — without medication — before the child returns to school,” Tool-Crawford said. “Also, with the stomach flu symptoms, we like students to go 24 hours without vomiting or having diarrhea before returning to school.”

She said sickness tends to peak between December and February (during the colder months) but she has seen reports of illnesses peak in May. The rate of illness in the schools fluctuates based on the number of people who have received the flu shot or not, and the prevalence of people who stay home when they’re sick.

As a way of promoting wellness, the district hosted flu clinics last October, whereby the flu vaccine was made available to teachers and staff, with nurses administering the shots on school grounds as a convenience.

“This protects the teachers, and also in a way the students, too,” Tool-Crawford said. “The more people that get vaccinated, the better it is for all of us.”

She said whenever parents are in doubt about whether or not to send a sick child to school, they may phone any of the district’s school nurses.

For more information, Tool-Crawford may be reached at 641-754-1156 or stoolcrawford@marshalltown.k12.ia.us

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