October attendance tops 92 percent, despite influenza

I’m pleased to report that Springfield Public Schools had an average daily attendance of 92.44% for the month of October. Typically, that number would be a little on the low side; it is down 2.69% from October of last year. However, that number is noteworthy this year since we’ve had to deal with H1N1.

Several of our schools experienced high absentee rates – topping 20% on more than one occasion – at various points last month because of students with flu-like symptoms. The district even had to close Delaware Elementary from Oct. 14-16 because of an elevated number of students absent with flu-like symptoms.

Because of the early arrival of flu season, I was pleasantly surprised by our 92.44% average daily attendance rate for October.

Nevertheless, it is worth reminding everyone that flu season is far from over, and we must continue to take precautions to deal with further outbreaks. SPS is now in the process of offering free H1N1 vaccines to our students, with parental permission. The schedules for vaccine clinics as well as additional information about flu prevention are available on our influenza information page. I encourage everyone to keep washing their hands and don’t hesitate to keep your child home from school if they’re showing signs of illness such as a fever.