STRONG – A staff member at Strong Elementary School has been put on paid leave after a number of parents expressed concerns about the individual’s recent travels to Dallas.
The subject arose during the public comment period at the beginning of Thursday’s school board meeting, with several parents questioning whether the staff member, a teacher, should be working at Strong Elementary following the individual’s trip to Dallas for a national education conference.
The ongoing outbreak of the Ebola virus in West Africa is believed to be responsible for approximately 4,500 deaths. Thomas Eric Duncan, a Liberian citizen, died of the Ebola virus at the Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital on Oct. 8. Since that time, two nurses at that facility have been diagnosed with the virus and approximately 75 other health care workers associated with Texas Health Presbyterian are being monitored by health officials at one level or another. The virus spreads through direct contact with bodily fluids, and afflicted individuals are not contagious until after they develop symptoms.
At Thursday’s board meeting, parents asked why they hadn’t been informed of the teacher’s trip sooner.
Superintendent Erica Brouillet said that approval for the teacher to travel to Dallas had been given in July in order for the individual to attend a national conference there. There had been no intent at keeping anything secret, Brouillet said, pointing out that a notification had been posted on the district website. Letters were sent home to the parents of students attending the Strong school.
The district has no indication that the teacher had any contact with anyone exposed to Ebola.
After hearing the parents’ concerns, the board moved to place the teacher on paid leave for 21 days, representing the maximum incubation period for Ebola. While a few directors termed the step as an overreaction, others said it was the correct decision if it allayed the concerns of the community. The teacher, administrators said, didn’t want either students or parents to be afraid of him or her and was amenable to the leave of absence.
In a statement posted on the district’s website, MSAD 58 noted that it was in close contact with the state Department of Education and Center for Disease Control regarding the situation.
Recently, the University of Maine at Farmington held a round-table discussion on the Ebola virus outbreak. As a result of that discussion, a website with several links to information about the virus, outbreak and ongoing efforts to control it was developed. That website can be accessed here, for those seeking more information about Ebola.
Dr. Naliboff, thanks for confirming why the Strong parents are justified in showing concern.(see opinion section) The incubation period is still not up yet from the confirmed case. The infected nurse and the Strong teacher were at the same airport. The nurse thought she only had a cold so was likely blowing snot around. How many may have come in contact unknowingly with her secretions before they were dry long enough to kill the virus? No one knows at this time how many may be infected by this man who lied his way into this country. Our president could allay some fears if he would grow a pair and stop travel from infected countries. Meantime, what is wrong with erring on the side of caution? And forget ebola, where is the return on the precious tax dollars spent to send this teacher on an unnecessary trip?
Even though i couldnt stop reading all of the comments, in the end i still wish this article had never been published. Wrong or right, in the end it is the schools decision to do what they feel is right. This trip to dallas must have been a well advanced planned trip. Wondering why parents and school faculty didnt question the trip before she left? Maybe thats why the school felt obligated to give the teacher a paid leave?
you are right, mark.
Amen Karen Calloway! You hit it on the head!!!!
Will the next wave of group hysteria be when the teacher goes out shopping?
Ana Rothschild is right on the mark – while I feel sorry for any parents who were worried, if that worry is based on a lack of understanding of the risks and is fueled by media-driven fear, it needs to be tamped down and we need to use our common sense, a characteristic that seems to be in rather short supply nowadays.
Irrational fear is one of the worst problems we face as a society. People get “freaked out” because they don’t have good information, and because our media sensationalizes. Then you get the disgusting politically inspired stuff that wants to place blame, attack the CDC and other silliness. Fear weakens our republic – and people seem to be afraid of a lot lately.
If you live in fear, well, here’s a movie suggestion: Defending Your Life, starring Albert Brooks and Meryl Streep. It’s a fun movie.
I just got back from Freeport and guess what? I followed a car from Texas…does that mean I should be quarantined or am I safe. What a sad situation for all…Juliana Rothschild, your letter was perfection…thank you.
I highly recommend reading and watching the Ted Talk with Chris Hadfield
https://www.ted.com/speakers/chris_hadfield
His story is real, and his point is handling fear. When he asks “So what are you afraid of?” think about it, and listen and watch.
Become informed as well as you can about the things you are concerned about, and practice a response for when the worst situation comes your way.
Mathematically, the safest course of action would be to simply cancel school for the rest of the year… Because there is certainly no way that any of out kids would ever come into contact with someone who may have been sneezed in the general direction of by a person who traveled on a plane with someone who shared an elevator with a guy who worked down the street from the hospital where the Ebola patient was treated.
But seriously… I am not sure which is more ridiculous, the decision or the rationale of the few who are defending it.
Education of the general public is key. As far as scientists know at this point, ebola virus is spread by contact with blood or body fluids, ie, vomit, diarrhea , saliva ,etc. Everyone needs to be aware of handwashing, and cleanliness of their surroundings I have read that chlorine bleach will kill the virus on surfaces. Clorox wipes may help disinfect surfaces, who knows? Can’t hurt if it doesn’t help.
This has been an interesting ride. From reading all the comments, one would gather that most do not agree with the decision to put the teacher out on sick leave. The Strong parental reaction to this is similar to the reactions when AIDS was at the forefront. I am not accusing people of being ignorant, but ignorance of the facts sometimes leads to “knee jerk” reactions. I agree with the medical facts that the yearly FLU is something to be really worried about.
This blog is the typical Sunday football quarterbacks expressing in some cases the nonsense the this administration (federal), gives to the public and has embolden those who follow like sheepeople wherever they preach.
First things first, if the school or one nearby that has a person with Ebola, they should stop all the contact between schools for a while. Sports games should be restricted along with other competitions and programs in which students are moving around. Now, I know that will never happen because people do not want to be inconvenienced, so we are screwed.
Because people won’t do what is necessary to reduce contact in this country, Ebola will be spread like wildfire. Rules in schools that force kids that are sick to go to school because they have missed too many days because they were sick from multiple causes will cause a spread of diseases like this. Also the fact that both parents have to work and they send their kids to school even if they are sick causes the spread of diseases.
Face it, our country is in more of a dangerous state than many other countries in the world.
According to CNN’s Mel Robbins, Fearbola is an “airborne disease that spreads through conversation, entering through your ears.” Robbins says that Fearbola is so contagious that some victims can contract it by just seeing images of Ebola.
“Once inside your body, Fearbola attacks the part of the brain responsible for rational thinking. It starts with a low-grade concern about the two health care workers diagnosed with Ebola in Dallas and slowly builds into fear of a widespread epidemic in the United States. Almost half of the people affected by Fear-bola are also “very” or “somewhat” worried they themselves will catch the virus.”
Fearbola is a dangerous disease she says, because it leads to garbled decision making and illusions. People suffering from Fearbola favor travel bans, think Ebola is an airborne virus, and think that the diagnosis of the second nurse in Dallas with Ebola means that they are living in a real-life “Outbreak” movie.
I gather from the 80+ people that have responded, that you are all very concerned about what takes place in MSAD 58, so I look forward to seeing you all at the next board meeting! Community involvement is a wonderful thing!
I will not be attending the next board meeting. I will not be tuning in to Fox News, Glenn Beck, or Rush Limbaugh either. Enough fear-mongering, exaggeration, lack of common sense, caving to those who can’t think for themselves.