Welcome back to school! I hope everyone had a restful, relaxing and healthy summer. The health and safety of the students at the Southwest Leadership Academy Charter School is my number one priority. With this in mind, the following areas are ones frequently addressed to me.

Should I keep my child home from school because of illness?

If your child exhibits the following symptoms, please keep them at home:

• Has a temperature of 100° degrees or more. Your child should remain at home in bed for the day and should be fever free, without the use of medication, for 24 hours before returning to school as many children will rebound with a temperature.

• Has been diagnosed with a strep infection. Your child should be on antibiotics for 24 hours before returning to school.

• Has vomited during the night and is still vomiting in the morning.

• Has a persistent cough, chest congestion, or discolored nasal discharge(yellow, green, brown).

• Has persistent diarrhea during the night and into the morning.

• Has red swollen eyes that itch and are draining pus.

• If your child has a any kind of rash that you cannot identify.

All communicable diseases should be reported to the school, even if students develop them over the weekend and are well enough to return to school by Monday. It is important to be able to track infectious disease occurrences in order to provide parents with information about their prevalence and any needed precautions. The following are just some examples of illnesses that should be reported to the health office: chickenpox, strep throat or scarlet fever, pink eye, ringworm, fifth’s disease, impetigo, and scabies.

What happens if my child gets sick or injured while at school?

If advanced emergency treatment is required, Emergency Medical Services will be called. In the event of minor injuries or illnesses your child will be treated in the school health office. Parents will be contacted if the illness or injury requires follow-up care, or monitoring, or if the student will require an early dismissal. If the parent/guardian is not available, a parent/guardian provided emergency contact person will be called. For this reason it is very important to keep the school updated with current phone numbers.

My child needs to take medication while at school.

It is the policy of Southwest Leadership Academy Charter School to administer medications only to students with prior written permission from the parent/guardian and physician. A medication administration form may be obtained from the school‘s main office or from the health office. All students must have a medication administration form on file before medications may be administered to them. Verbal permission over the phone is not acceptable. A new medication administration form must be filled out each school year and if there are any changes in the student’s medication. All medications must be in the original container, clearly labeled with the student’s name, physician’s name, medication name, dosage, frequency and date of expiration. All medications must be turned in to the nurse’s office. No medications may be kept in the student’s desk or locker.

At the end of the school year, it is the parent’s/guardian’s responsibility to pick up any unused medications. Medication left after the end of the school year will be properly disposed of in accordance with school policy.

Medication Administration Forms are required for all medications, which need to be taken during school hours. Prescription medications require a physician’s signature on the form. All medications, prescription and over-the-counter must be in its original container.