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This blog originally appeared on the Staples Worklife Resource Center.
Preventing colds and the flu from spreading throughout a school is always a challenge. At the start of 2018, schools in 12 states had to close for at least one full day due to the flu, according to education news provider The 74.
School closures or frequent student absences are enormously disruptive to classrooms. And in cases where school funding is tied to attendance, student absences are costly, notes Rick Clemons, Staples Facilities Solutions National Manager for Education & Government Markets.
“If 5 to 8 percent of students in a given school year are absent because of illness, it can add up to millions of dollars in lost funding for an individual school district,” he says. In light of that, it makes much more sense to invest in a program to prevent an outbreak, rather than lose much more in attendance-related funding.
Stopping cold and flu viruses requires a group effort and systematic approach. Here are Clemons’ recommendations for warding off an outbreak.
Controlling infections is a team effort, so work with stakeholders — from the district-level superintendent to the teachers, nurse and even Parent Teacher Association — to implement and encourage best practices. For example, the school nurse can help you launch a hand sanitizer program and scout out strategic locations throughout buildings to place dispensers. Teachers can demonstrate proper hand washing techniques to younger students, or encourage older ones to wipe down common surfaces with disinfecting wipes.
Constant communication is key here. Notify the school community of your plans for beating back germs, and issue reminders on how individuals and classrooms can protect themselves. Ask administrators to share your messages with teachers and students.
Be sure to keep stakeholders updated on your cleaning efforts, and ask them to keep you in the loop on important factors, including student absences. You can work together as a team to figure out the best steps and preventative measures to take.
While it’s common practice to perform a visual and smell check after cleaning a classroom or restroom, this does not determine whether bacteria and viruses have truly been eliminated. Periodic objective and quantitative testing, such as ATP monitoring, can be conducted to determine if a cleaning and sanitizing process is effective.
Clemons recommends referencing The ISSA Clean Standard: K-12, which was created specifically for K-12 schools with input from school and industry professionals. Along with this standard, other established tactics for proper cleaning include:
Ahead of the cold and flu season — which starts in October and can last through March — take steps to create your plan and acquire your supplies. Preseason is a good time to meet with school administrators to emphasize the importance of a community-wide approach to keeping staff and students healthy and focused on learning. This is also a good time to enlist the help of staffers willing to help you create and distribute fliers and other communications to keep involvement strong all year long.
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