School Closings by State

[GhostRN]

CA (2) One San Diego school will close its doors to students immediately as a precaution after one of its students had a confirmed case of swine flu, San Diego health officials said Monday.Christ the Cornerstone Academy in Mira Mesa is being closed as a precaution.

http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/Mmore-Soap-Cleaning-at-Local-Schools-.html

a school near Sacramento, will be closed until at least Thursday while health officials determine if a seventh-grader has the flu.
http://www.kgun9.com/Global/story.asp?S=10253288
CT (3) No cases of swine flu have been confirmed in Connecticut, but two "probable" cases have been identified in Stratford and Southbury, and East Haddam schools will be closed Wednesday after two members of a family that recently traveled to Cancun, Mexico, became ill, officials said.
NY (1) In New York, St. Francis Preparatory is closed for several days after reports of eight confirmed cases among students and possibly more. Testing continues on dozens of other students.http://kgmb9.com/main/content/view/16711/42/St. Francis is the largest private Catholic high school in the nation, with 2,700 students http://www.koaa.com/aaaa_top_stories...n-US-no-deaths
OH (1)An elementary school in Ohio is closed for the week after a student was found with the virus after a family trip to Mexico. Authorities say he has a mild case and is recovering at home.http://kgmb9.com/main/content/view/16711/42/
SC (1) An independent Newberry school is closed today after 13 students and three chaperones returned from a trip to Mexico with flu-like symptoms.
A message on the Newberry Academy's Web site (http://www.newberryacademy.com/) says an announcement will be made by 3 p.m. on whether school will be closed tomorrow.http://www.heraldonline.com/120/story/1297415.html
TX (16+) (District mentioned)
SAN ANTONIO - The State Health Department has ordered the Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City Independent School District to close all schools for at least one week. Saturday it was announced that Steele High School would shut down, but new illnesses have prompted a district-wide closure.

http://www.woai.com/content/health/story/Swine-flu-outbreak-forces-closure-of-entire/GyWNCduLGEqo7SuvkrFQ9Q.cspx

Near San Antonio, 14 schools will be closed for at least the next week after two students at a high school caught the virus.

http://www.kgun9.com/Global/story.asp?S=10253288

SAN ANTONIO -- The Texas Department of State Health Services announced Saturday that Byron Steele High School in Cibolo will temporarily close as public health and school officials work to keep swine influenza from spreading.
The school closing is effective immediately, and will last for at least 10 days. The school's extracurricular activities also will be cancelled.

http://www.ksat.com/health/19290045/detail.html

Texas state health authorities on Saturday ordered a high school near San Antonio closed indefinitely after a third student showed symptoms of swine flu, which has killed dozens of people in Mexico.http://uk.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUKTRE53P0B120090426?rpc=64
Other: 4/27 Schools in New York, Texas, California and Ohio where students were found or were suspected to have swine flu were closing. http://www.wwj.com/Swine-Flu-Cases-R...States/4279489

***Note schools may re-open - the list above will not track that. This list will be updated as able and as others reply to this post. Corrections/adjustments welcome.

2/2/07 :Feb. 1 — In the event of a severe flu outbreak, schools should close for up to three months, ballgames and movies should be canceled, and working hours should be staggered so subways and buses are less crowded, the federal government said Thursday in issuing new pandemic flu guidelines to states and cities.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/02/health/02flu.html

4/9/08 : Closing schools during an influenza pandemic could prevent one in seven cases of flu, British researchers said on Wednesday in a study that suggests such action would have less impact than some other estimates.

But they said school closings would create significant hardships for working parents, who might be forced to create informal daycare arrangements that would undo efforts to contain the spread of flu.

"We find school closings would be less effective than some studies have suggested," said Dr. Simon Cauchemez of Imperial College London, whose study appears in the journal Nature.

"The main effect would be to slow and flatten the outbreak -- so the numbers becoming ill in the worst week of the outbreak might be reduced by up to 40 percent, reducing peak demand on health-care systems," Cauchemez said in an e-mail.

http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSN09207520

[flatlander]

Re: School Closings by State

you can add Arizona to the list now. Here is the link.

http://ktar.com/?nid=6&sid=1143968

[dreamingones]

Re: School Closings by State

Add RI to the list of states with school closings.

local RI news report

[Tea]

Re: School Closings by State

http://www.mydesert.com/article/2009...10/1006/news01

Indio High School closes after student diagnosed, Marines quarantined

29 Palms, California

Edit to add:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...TL&type=health

Bay Area school closed after kids get sick

[GhostRN]

Re: School Closings by State

I will update this list as soon as I receive editing direction - yesterday it would let me update it, today I don't see that option. tks for submitting info.

[GhostRN]

Re: School Closings by State

More than 100 U.S. schools closed because of swine flu

• <LI class=cnnhiliteheader>Story Highlights
• At least 74 schools shut because of possible or confirmed cases
• 30 more schools across the country have closed as precaution
• Education secretary urges "common sense" measures

From Kate Bolduan
CNN
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- At least 74 elementary, junior high and high schools have closed across the country because of confirmed or probable cases of swine flu, the Department of Education said Wednesday.
Another 30 schools have closed as a precautionary measure because of the H1N1 virus, Department of Education spokesman Massie Ritsch said.
The closures -- of both public and private schools across eight states -- affect about 56,000 students out of the estimated 55 million students attending the nation's 100,000 kindergarten-through-12th grade schools, Ritsch said.
Some of the schools that were closed have reopened, he noted.
On Wednesday, President Obama called on schools with confirmed or possible swine flu cases to "strongly consider temporarily closing so that we can be as safe as possible."
And Education Secretary Arne Duncan said in a statement Wednesday that everyone involved in schools needs to "pitch in and do our part to prevent the spread of this flu virus."
"Use the same common sense and courtesy that you would use during winter flu season: Wash your hands, cover your mouth when you cough, and stay home if you are sick," Duncan said.
The secretary said the department is closely monitoring the flu outbreak and urged schools to follow guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"Do what is appropriate for the health of your communities, your schools and your students," Duncan said.
Department of Education officials and experts from the CDC held a conference call Monday with more than 1,700 people from national education associations, state school offices, individual schools and school districts.
The Department of Education emphasized the need for "common sense" preventative measures among students and faculty in school facilities, an official said.
Education officials also stressed the need for people showing any flu-like symptoms to stay away from school and called on administrators to report any suspected or confirmed cases to local public health authorities as well as the Department of Education.
If a school has a confirmed case of swine flu, the CDC recommends closing the facility for about seven days.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/04/29/swine.flu.schools/index.html

[Shiloh]

Re: School Closings by State

central new york state:

http://blog.syracuse.com/east/2009/04/central_new_york_high_school_s.html

Conn. school closings in Post 3: http://www.flutrackers.com/forum/sho...d.php?t=101307

[GhostRN]

Re: School Closings by State

Idea of closing schools over flu raises questions
Shutting doors may create ripple effect: What about parents, day care?
Associated Press Writers
The Associated Press
updated 4:10 p.m. ET, Wed., April 29, 2009
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WASHINGTON - Closing schools won't necessarily stop the spread of swine flu.
What about the younger sister in a private day care center? And how to keep teens who are sent home from getting together at the mall or at each other's houses?
So far, only about 100 of the nation's 132,000 schools have closed. But they include schools on both coasts and in the nation's heartland, and more are likely to shut their doors in coming days. Texas officials just suspended all high school sports — smack in the middle of baseball season.
In a worldwide epidemic — which the swine flu outbreak is not — government planning documents say schools could be closed for up to 12 weeks.
Local officials make the decisions on schools, after weighing conditions in their cities, towns and counties. But President Barack Obama says parents everywhere should start preparing for the possibility that their kids may be sent home.
That would raise a whole new set of questions.
"There is a large ripple effect," acknowledged Kathleen Sebelius, Obama's newly approved health secretary. "What happens to the parents? Where do those children go? Do you close the day care center if a younger sibling is there?"
So far, closings have affected fewer than 60,000 students out of a total of 56 million enrolled nationwide in K-12 education in public and private schools. Most of the closings are individual schools, not entire systems. Most are expected to be short-term, a week or so. Some of the children who got sick are already recovering.
If the outbreak turns into a killer flu, classes could still continue even if schools are shut.
If they've planned for it, teachers could give their lessons by Internet, television, radio, telephone, mail or through their community newspapers.
In Mexico, where the illnesses have been more severe, the government closed schools nationwide. In the U.S., authorities will deal with the problem from the ground up, not from the top down.
"It is the state and local role to plan what's going to happen, as far as day to day or hour to hour," said Brenda Greene, director of school health programs for the National School Boards Association.
If a flu case is confirmed at a school, local officials may just close down that school alone. Clusters of cases at different schools could prompt the closing of an entire system. Closings in many communities may lead to a statewide shutdown.
Closing schools is not to be taken lightly.
"It's not just about the schools," explained Kim Elliott, deputy director of Trust for America's Health, an independent public health organization. "If a community is thinking about closing schools, they're also probably thinking about closing day care centers. And children also depend on schools for a lot of services other than education, including lunch programs and after-school care."
The federal government has taken a leading role in helping states and local communities plan for a public health disaster. Washington's concern grew from the anthrax attacks of 2001 and the 2005 bird flu scare that sparked fears of global infection.
In Congress, the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, Democrat George Miller of California, said Wednesday he will hold a hearing next week on how schools and businesses are prepared to handle the swine flu virus.
On a conference call Monday, officials from the Education Department and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention answered questions from more than 1,400 people from school districts, state education offices and education groups.
Education officials said many asked what circumstances should prompt schools to close. They were encouraged to follow the CDC's recommendation that schools close if they have a confirmed case or if they have a suspected case that is linked to a confirmed case.
In the end, making the decision is a balancing act, not an on-off switch, said Robert M. Pestronk, a former public health officer who heads the National Association of County and City Health Officials.
"Because there is one case in one school, or 10 cases, doesn't lead to a decision to close a whole district," said Pestronk. "It's a case of balancing the risk that is potentially present against the need for communities to operate normally on a day-to-day basis. You're trying to protect people's health and not completely shut down communities."
There may be alternatives to closing schools.
Researchers at Georgia Tech modeled the effects of two options: a voluntary quarantine of affected households in a severe flu, and school closures. They found that both would work about as well.
"It's information that boards of education should consider," said Julie Swann, a professor of industrial engineering who collaborated in the study. "In some cases, you might want to do both kinds of interventions."
Some families are already doing that.
In the New York City borough of Queens, St. Francis Preparatory School closed last weekend and will remain shuttered at least until Monday. The 2,700-student school is the largest Roman Catholic high school in the nation.
Raquel Mooradian and her husband, Greg, have been holed up in their Queens apartment since their 17-year-old daughter, Felicia, a senior at St. Francis, fell ill on Friday. They have two other children, ages 2 and 16.
Raquel said they are afraid to leave the apartment for fear of infecting others. She didn't attend her classes at a local college, and Greg called in sick at his job. However, their teenage son is attending classes at his public school near St. Francis.
When they took their daughter to the emergency room on Saturday night, she had a temperature of 102.7.
The mother said she covers her face so she won't catch the virus when she goes into her daughter's bedroom to bring her soup, water or Gatorade.
"She's able to talk but says, 'Let me sleep, let me sleep,'" said her mother.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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[GhostRN]

Re: School Closings by State

AL: Huntsville, Alabama - tks contributor wdcare
http://blog.al.com/breaking/2009/04/...ne_flu_cl.html
AZ TKs contributor Flatlander
http://ktar.com/?nid=6&sid=1143968
CA One San Diego school will close its doors to students immediately as a precaution after one of its students had a confirmed case of swine flu, San Diego health officials said Monday.Christ the Cornerstone Academy in Mira Mesa is being closed as a precaution.
http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/loca...-Schools-.html
a school near Sacramento, will be closed until at least Thursday while health officials determine if a seventh-grader has the flu.
http://www.kgun9.com/Global/story.asp?S=10253288

http://www.mydesert.com/article/2009...10/1006/news01

Indio High School closes after student diagnosed, Marines quarantined
29 Palms, California - Tks contributor TEa

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...TL&type=health

Bay Area school closed after kids get sick
<!-- / message --><!-- sig -->CT No cases of swine flu have been confirmed in Connecticut, but two "probable" cases have been identified in Stratford and Southbury, and East Haddam schools will be closed Wednesday after two members of a family that recently traveled to Cancun, Mexico, became ill, officials said.
Conn. school closings in Post 3: http://www.flutrackers.com/forum/sho...d.php?t=101307 tks contributor Shiloh<!-- / message -->
IL-While in Chicago, a probable case of swine flu prompted the closure of a Northside Chicago elementary school for at least two days.
Kilmer Elementary School is located in a neighborhood with a large Filipino-American population. School officials noted an unusually high absentee rate at the school in the last few days. Because of this, officials closed the school even before one of its students was discovered to have a probable case of swine flu.http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/pinoy-mig...ense-neighborh
LA-BATON ROUGE, La. – Gov. Bobby Jindal and the Secretary of the Department of Health and Hospitals Alan Levine said the closing of the Lafayette school was a precautionary move. http://www.wwltv.com/topstories/stor...u.255a226.html#
NY In New York, St. Francis Preparatory is closed for several days after reports of eight confirmed cases among students and possibly more. Testing continues on dozens of other students.http://kgmb9.com/main/content/view/16711/42/St. Francis is the largest private Catholic high school in the nation, with 2,700 students http://www.koaa.com/aaaa_top_stories...n-US-no-deathscentral new york state:
http://blog.syracuse.com/east/2009/0..._school_s.html Tks contributor ShilohThree Catholic schools in Brooklyn -- Good Shepherd in Marine Park, St. Brigid's in Bushwick and Bishop Kearney HS in Bensonhurst -- closed for the rest of the week because of suspected cases.
http://www.nypost.com/seven/04302009...ols_166945.htm Tks Contributor CommonGround<!-- / message --><!-- sig -->

OH An elementary school in Ohio is closed for the week after a student was found with the virus after a family trip to Mexico. Authorities say he has a mild case and is recovering at home.http://kgmb9.com/main/content/view/16711/42/
RI - TKs contributor Dreamingones local RI news report
SC An independent Newberry school is closed today after 13 students and three chaperones returned from a trip to Mexico with flu-like symptoms.
A message on the Newberry Academy's Web site (http://www.newberryacademy.com/) says an announcement will be made by 3 p.m. on whether school will be closed tomorrow.http://www.heraldonline.com/120/story/1297415.html
TX (Multiple Districts mentioned)
SAN ANTONIO - The State Health Department has ordered the Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City Independent School District to close all schools for at least one week. Saturday it was announced that Steele High School would shut down, but new illnesses have prompted a district-wide closure.

http://www.woai.com/content/health/s...SuvkrFQ9Q.cspx

http://www.star-telegram.com/804/story/1348647.html - tks contributor Tess

Near San Antonio, 14 schools will be closed for at least the next week after two students at a high school caught the virus.

http://www.kgun9.com/Global/story.asp?S=10253288

SAN ANTONIO -- The Texas Department of State Health Services announced Saturday that Byron Steele High School in Cibolo will temporarily close as public health and school officials work to keep swine influenza from spreading.
The school closing is effective immediately, and will last for at least 10 days. The school's extracurricular activities also will be cancelled.

http://www.ksat.com/health/19290045/detail.html

Texas state health authorities on Saturday ordered a high school near San Antonio closed indefinitely after a third student showed symptoms of swine flu, which has killed dozens of people in Mexico.http://uk.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUKTRE53P0B120090426?rpc=64
UT: Park City School District is closing all of its schools today. The superintendent of schools and school board says all eight schools in the district will be closed after three students showed possible signs of having swine flu. Confirmation of the swine flu has not been made by the CDC. The district is closing all schools and facilities as well as any planned activities at least through Monday.http://www.fox13now.com/news/kstu-st...,2311512.story tks contributor Commonground.
WA-Seattle's Madrona K-8.closed through next Wednesday to follow the recommendations of King County Public Health. The school will have a routine cleaning.The school will reopen on Thursday, May 7. Tks contributor Tea
Other: 4/27 Schools in New York, Texas, California and Ohio where students were found or were suspected to have swine flu were closing. http://www.wwj.com/Swine-Flu-Cases-R...States/4279489

***Note schools may re-open - the list above will not track that. This list will be updated as able and as others reply to this post. For general information purposes only. As always use your own local contacts for attendance purposes. Corrections/adjustments welcome.

[wdcare]

Re: School Closings by State

Huntsville, Alabama

http://blog.al.com/breaking/2009/04/probable_cases_of_swine_flu_cl.html

[tess]

Ft. Worth, Tx ISD and Cleburne ISD - all campuses closed

Article in the Ft. Worth Star Telegram

By STEVE CAMPBELL and EVA-MARIE AYALA

The Fort Worth school district shut down all 144 of its campuses until at least May 8 shortly before the first Tarrant County case of swine flu was confirmed at one school late Wednesday.

County health officials advised the 80,000-student district to close after four probable cases of swine flu were found in district students.

snip

Dr. Sandra Parker, medical director of Tarrant County Public Health, said letters were sent to people who may have had close contact with the sick student or the other three probable cases telling them that they may need to contact a doctor.

She said that Tarrant County now has 10 probable cases of swine flu and that her department is investigating five more from surrounding counties.

snip

The Cleburne school district shut down all 11 of its campuses after four probable cases were reported.

Texas education officials postponed all public high school athletic competition until May 11.

[Tea]

Re: School Closings by State

wow... California re opening of a school.

Another positive development took place at Christ the Cornerstone Academy in Mira Mesa. The private school reopened yesterday after a one-day closing caused by fears of a swine flu outbreak.

http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stori...emic-imminent/

[Commonground]

Re: School Closings by State

Utah
5:49 AM MDT, April 30, 2009

PARK CITY, Utah - Park City School District is closing all of its schools today. The superintendent of schools and school board says all eight schools in the district will be closed after three students showed possible signs of having swine flu. Confirmation of the swine flu has not been made by the CDC. The district is closing all schools and facilities as well as any planned activities at least through Monday.

http://www.fox13now.com/news/kstu-story-suspected-swine-flu-closes-park-city-sc,0,2311512.story

[Commonground]

Re: School Closings by State

NY
Last updated: 7:11 am
April 30, 2009
SWINE FLU SHUTS 3 MORE CITY SCHOOLS

Three Catholic schools in Brooklyn -- Good Shepherd in Marine Park, St. Brigid's in Bushwick and Bishop Kearney HS in Bensonhurst -- closed for the rest of the week because of suspected cases.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/04302009/news/columnists/swine_flu_shuts_3_more_city_schools_166945.htm

[Tea]

Re: School Closings by State

Seatle WA

http://www.kirotv.com/news/19328773/detail.html#-

6 Probable Swine Flu Cases Identified; School Closes

<snip>
They said one King County case is an 11-year-old boy who is a student at Seattle's Madrona K-8.

David Tucker from Seattle Public Schools said the school will be closed through next Wednesday to follow the recommendations of King County Public Health. The school will have a routine cleaning.

The school will reopen on Thursday, May 7.
<snip>