Board addresses head lice problem
By Phyllis Moore
Published in News on January 28, 2015 1:46 PM
Members of the Wayne County Board of Education raised questions Tuesday about how the district handles cases of head lice, with officials responding that efforts are being made to better educate parents and provide information.
As a called work session wrapped up Tuesday afternoon, several school board members indicated they had received emails from parents concerned that they were not notified about cases of head lice at Grantham School.
Ken Derksen, public information officer for the district, said that since students had returned to classes after the Christmas break, 10 cases have been reported in different grades and classrooms at the school -- eight of them over the two-week time period, two of them in the last week. Four of the cases were from one kindergarten class, he said.
The number is no higher than previous years, he pointed out.
Nor is it isolated at that school, added Allison Pridgen, director of student support services and hearing officer.
"We have been dealing with head lice for years and years and years," she said. "It's a nuisance issues, much more of a nuisance issue at home than it can be at school sometimes."
Letters were initially sent home to parents in the affected kindergarten class, with a subsequent letter from the principal sent out schoolwide on Tuesday.
"Our school follows district lice management protocols, which were developed by a local health advisory committee and which are aligned with the research and recommendations made by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the National Association of School Nurses," wrote Principal Lisa Tart. "Head lice are not a sign of unclean people, homes or schools. They are considered by pediatricians to be a social nuisance and are not a cause for medical concerns."
The letter went on to provide information on symptoms to look for, suggestions on how to check for them and urging parents to not only check their child's head on a regular basis but others in the family as well.
Mrs. Pridgen said the district attempts to be proactive with situations such as this. During the colder months, when the problem worsens, school nurses and social workers do their part. Letters to parents, however, have not always been effective, she said.
"Truly we could spend days upon days sending home letters," she said. "The letters don't seem to do a lot of good."
Most parents will typically read information sent home and take action, but "It's those that are not responsible parents that frequently will create an issue for us," she said.
Board member Jennifer Strickland said she was concerned about the lack of a more stringent policy dealing with any infestation.
"I would love for you guys to not put this off another month or two," she said. "We as a board don't have to wait. We can put a policy in place on this, can't we?"
She suggested more be done to educate or re-educate parents about the issue, saying she "doesn't find it acceptable" to wait for lice to be found on a child's head to take action.
"We have got to put something in place to stop this," she said.
"I understand your frustration with it," Mrs. Pridgen replied, explaining it is "not prudent use" of the nurses' time to check every student at every school, although nurses could provide training for classroom personnel.
Mrs. Pridgen also said staff are working on increased efforts, including adding information on the district's website and individual school websites about head lice and other health-related issues.