Willie Brown AcademyLetter from Nurse Ricketts
Dear Parents and Guardians,
Welcome to a new school year! I am your school nurse and can’t wait to see all the smiling faces of our scholars, whether they be virtual or in person. I wanted to share some updates that we have in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Parents are the first step in reducing the spread of illness at school! Check in with your child each morning for signs of illness. If your child has any of the following symptoms, keep them home.
• Temperature 100 degrees Fahrenheit or higher when taken by mouth
• Sore throat
• New uncontrolled cough that causes difficulty breathing (for students with chronic allergic/asthmatic cough, a change in their cough from baseline)
• Diarrhea
• Vomiting
• Abdominal pain
• Abnormal taste and/or smell
• New onset of severe headache (especially with a fever)
• Has had close contact (within 6 feet of an infected person for at least 15 minutes) with a person with confirmed COVID-19
• Contact your campus nurse if your child has any of the above symptoms and keep your child home.
Individuals Confirmed or Suspected with COVID-19
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Any individuals who themselves either: (a) are lab-confirmed to have COVID-19; or (b) experience the symptoms of COVID-19, must stay at home throughout the infection period of ten days and cannot return to campus until the school nurse screens the individual to determine that ALL conditions below have been met for re-entry.
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24 hours have passed without fever or the use of fever reducing medicines
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Improvement in respiratory symptoms (cough, shortness of breath)
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At least ten days have passed since symptoms first appeared.
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In the case of an individual who has symptoms that could be COVID-19 and who is not evaluated by a medical professional or tested for COVID-19, such individual is assumed to have COVID-19, and the individual may not return to the campus until the individual has completed the same three-step set of criteria listed above.
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If the individual has symptoms that could be COVID-19 and wants to return to school before completing the above 10 day stay at home period, the individual must either:
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Obtain a medical professional’s note clearing the individual for return based on an alternative diagnosis or
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Obtain an acute infection test at an approved testing location (https://tdem.texas.gov/covid-19/) that comes back negative for COVID-19.
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Your child will not be permitted back on campus until the campus nurse has completed a screening (phone or in person) for re-entry. Please contact your campus nurse for this screening before sending your child back to school.
Students who keep medicines for asthma in the clinic
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During the COVID-19 pandemic, we will not be providing nebulizer treatments in the clinic, except in emergencies. Please contact the student's healthcare provider for alternative treatments.
Student who receive daily medications
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We will only be accepting a 30-day supply of medication for students during this time.
VACCINATIONS: School vaccine rules still apply regardless of whether the education is received via virtual or in-person. Please make sure your student's vaccines are up to date so that your student can remain enrolled.
Vision and Hearing Screening: The campus nurse will communicate with parents regarding their child's screening date/time. If a parent does not want their child screened by the school, they can (1.) Provide a screening record provided by a licensed professional or (2.) Provide a signed statement that the student will not participate for religious reasons.
CAMPUS CLINICS: Campus clinics will look a little different with a “well clinic” and a “sick clinic” to serve students depending on their needs. All medications and routine healthcare needs will be treated in the “well clinic” and students with symptoms of illness will be treated in the “sick clinic.”
Parents, if you are contacted to pick up an ill child from school, please make every attempt to do so within 30 minutes.
Please contact me with any questions or concerns.
Thank you,
Jill Ricketts, BSN
817-299-5870