Stay current. Keep up with the latest news concerning the swine flu—especially in your neighborhood.
Inform. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has prepared what they've named, "Preparing for the Flu: A Communication Toolkit" for schools. The toolkit includes a series of PDFs with basic information about how to prepare parents and school administrators for the possibility of school closings (two fact sheets), action steps teachers and parents can take to protect students and communities (three fact sheets), and two Word™ templates schools can send to parents.
The CDC has also initiated a School Dismissal Monitoring System to report school closings related to the H1N1 virus. They offer several ways to report dismissals: online or via fax/email.
Plan. Be proactive to reduce risk of infection and epidemic outbreak—be prepared to keep your school open!
- Establish sick leave and return to work policies that are unique to a pandemic, including mandatory time off in the event of exposure.
- Give staff and faculty members information on your updated policies, and share with them your dedication to keep your school as safe as possible. Also, post contact information of person's employees can contact if exposed to the swine flu.
- Maintain updated records of communications between, and that have been sent to, employees.
- Keep a confidential updated list of employees who have taken sick leave, and a record of personnel who have had contact with infected people.
