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Students & Parents

“Healthy students are better learners, and academic achievement bears a lifetime of benefits for health.” (CDC, 2022)

The Canutillo District’s preventative approach to keeping students, teachers, and staff healthy will involve 3 types of measures:

  1. Strengthening individual student’s and adult’s resistance to infections
  2. Infection control and prevention by structuring and managing routine practices and our environment, in order to reduce the likelihood of contact with germs that might cause infectious disease
  3. Exclusion, when indicated

1. Strengthening Resistance To Infection

Measures that foster health and well-being make people better able to resist infectious diseases.
 

Routine Health Assessments

It is highly encouraged for students to visit their family’s health care provider for an annual wellness exam and a sports physical to ensure that the student has received the appropriate preventative health services.

Developmental and mental health conditions have been on the rise over the last several years with an increase in prevalence to 1 in 5 children. Only 50% of children with these issues are being identified and referred (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2018). A developmental and mental health screening should be part of a student’s wellness exam. The United States Preventive Services Taskforce recommends screening for anxiety in children aged 8 to 18 years and for depression in adolescents aged 12 to 18 years.

Immunizations

Enrolling a student who does not have all required vaccines into a group setting such as a school increases the risk of the spread of certain infectious diseases. Therefore, it is required that all students be fully immunized in order to minimize the risk of illness from vaccine-preventable infections. 

Immunization Exemptions/Refusal

A parent/guardian can seek an exemption from immunization requirements if there is a medical contraindication or the parent/guardian refuses some or all required vaccines for reasons of conscience, including a religious belief. 

Healthy Nutrition

Being well nourished supports the body’s immune system and resistance to infection. Encourage the consumption of a variety of healthy foods. Discourage the skipping of meals and the eating of high sugar, high calorie foods with little or no nutritional value.

Sleep and Exercise

Getting enough sleep and exercise supports brain development and physical and social-emotional wellness. Sleep supports the body’s immune system along with other body functions. 

Care for Special Needs

Providing necessary care to individuals with special needs may help them resist infection. Children with chronic health conditions, such as asthma and diabetes, are more susceptible to infection if their medical condition is not under good control. If special care or medication is required, the student’s health care provider can complete any required care plans or medication permission forms. This will allow the school and the school nurse to accommodate that special need.

2. Infection Control And Prevention

Implementing routine practices as well as structuring and managing the school environment can help to reduce the likelihood of contact with germs that might cause infectious disease.

Screening Tool

We strongly encourage all parents and caregivers to check their children for symptoms of illness before they go to school.

*If symptoms are present, do not send your child to school to prevent dissemination of any potential infectious agents. Stay home and contact your school nurse.

  • Temperature of 100 degrees Fahrenheit or higher
  • Sore throat
  • Cough (for students with chronic cough due to allergies or asthma, a change in their cough from usual)
  • Difficulty breathing (for students with asthma, check for a change from their baseline breathing)
  • Diarrhea or vomiting
  • New onset of severe headache, especially with a fever 


If your child DOES have any of the symptoms above:

  • Keep them home from school
  • Get your child tested for strep throat, COVID-19, and the flu if symptoms continue
  • Contact your child’s school nurse and report that your child is sick

Space

Having enough indoor space for air to circulate among children and adults in the room reduces the concentration of germs in the air and on surfaces. Minimizing sharing of space and surfaces among groups reduces the sharing of germs.

Hand Hygiene

Germs on hands are often transferred by touching the hands to the mouth, nose, eyes, other body openings, or surfaces that other people touch. Proper hand hygiene is key in the control of infectious diseases. Handwashing with soap is preferred over any other method. If washing with soap and water is not possible, use of alcohol-based hand sanitizers is an acceptable alternative.

Cough and Sneeze Etiquette

When a person coughs into the air, they can send germs out as far as 3 to 6 feet in front. If a person coughs into their hands, they could transfer germs from place to place when they touch something else. Using a tissue to cover the mouth and nose, or coughing into your elbow, if a tissue is not available, reduces the risk of spreading disease-causing germs.

Preventative Oral Health

Tooth decay is the most common chronic disease/condition during childhood. By 5 years of age, 50% of children have at least one cavity. Decay of “baby teeth” can cause problems with a child’s permanent teeth and lifelong oral health problems. Children’s teeth should be brushed at least twice a day with the right amount of fluoride toothpaste.

Surface Hygiene

Surface hygiene removes germs from surfaces that are likely to be contaminated during routine use and contact with body fluids. Routine cleaning and sanitizing or disinfecting when indicated, decreases the number of surfaces and areas where germs can be spread.

3. Exclusion

Exclusion of Children Who are Ill

Sending home (excluding) those who are mildly ill is not an effective way to control the spread of the most common germs. Children with mild illness may need to be excluded if they are unable to participate in planned activities or they require more care than can be reasonably provided. Families should have backup arrangements made in advance to use when a child needs to be excluded from school. Some specific symptoms or diagnoses require exclusion. They generally meet all 3 of these criteria: they are transmissible one person to another, they are particularly harmful, and there is evidence that exclusion may reduce the spread of illness. The Sick Child Policy, shared with families at online registration can be referred to when a decision about exclusion is needed.