School Nurse

You can contact the school nurse at any time by calling 828-495-4611, please leave a message if prompted.

The school nurse would like to remind parents of students who have been attending Alexander County Schools and inform our new families of the countywide school guidelines used for assessing sick children. It is our goal to keep the school environment as healthy as possible for all children. A child will be sent home if he or she has:

1)  a temperature of 100.4 degrees or higher

2)  a rash/skin eruption, with or without drainage, of unknown origin

3)  active vomiting or diarrhea

4)  suspected contagious illness

5)  a serious injury or appears obviously ill.

Please be aware that we encourage students to stay in class when possible. The nurse does not routinely notify parents of minor illness or injury.

Guidelines for parents to follow to avoid exposing other children to possibly contagious illness and to help prevent excessive clinic visits in school are as follows:

1) Children with a temperature above 100.4 degrees must be fever-free for 24 hours before returning to school.

2) Injuries that happen at home or over the weekend should be taken care of prior to returning to school.

3)  If a child vomits or has diarrhea during the night or in the morning before school, that child should be kept at home for 24 hours from the last episode.

4)  If a parent or guardian is called by the school nurse, please pick up your child in a timely manner. The nurse will only call home if she feels the child really needs to leave school.

5) Encourage your child to eat a nutritious breakfast and lunch as this prevents many stomachaches, headaches, poor concentration, and fatigue.

6)  Encourage your child to get adequate rest.

7) Teach your child to wash their hands frequently - before and after meals, after using the bathroom, etc.

Parents will be notified if a child is seen frequently in the clinic with minor complaints of illness or injury that tend to be chronic and contributes to a lot of missed class time.

Please update your emergency card throughout the school year! Often parents will have changes in work numbers, cell phone numbers, emergency contacts, etc. Valuable time is frequently spent by the school nurse or office staff trying to locate a parent for a sick or injured child.