Greetings,

As you have heard, one of our MPS schools, Emerson Spanish Immersion, was closed to students Monday and Tuesday of this week due to a suspected case of H1N1 flu.

Staff did show up for work on Monday, which was approved by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) to attend two meetings with District representatives to inform everyone of the status of the situation and to address questions.  MFT worked with the site steward and the district during the day and attended the afternoon meeting. MFT also met with District administration on Monday to receive a briefing and discuss issues directly effecting students, the school and staff.

It is important to know that the chain of command about decisions regarding H1N1 flu is as follows:

1.  The CDC makes a determination of possible H1N1 case(s) in our schools/communities. Testing takes 3-5 days at the present moment.  They are trying to speed this up.
2.  The CDC then contacts the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH, www.health.state.mn.us) regarding the results.
3.  The MN Department of Health contacts the MN Department of Education.
4.  The MN Department of Education then contacts Minneapolis Public Schools.
5.  Minneapolis Public Schools administration then contacts the specific school(s) affected as well as the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers President.

Our Communications Department has been in constant contact with all of the above organizations to ensure we have the latest information and policy decisions. In addition, we have had some schools calling the District to report possible cases of H1N1 flu.  The District is working with those schools to follow protocols outlined by the CDC.

When this all began, the Minnesota Department of Health made all the decisions relevant to H1N1 school closings.

As the last two days have progressed, the MN Department of Health has changed some of its policies and guidelines to allow school districts to have some say in whether or not a school needs to be closed at all, closed to students only, or closed to all - staff included.  This is subject to change.  MPS has made the decision to re-open Emerson Spanish Immersion on Wednesday, May 6th for students and staff.

We want to acknowledge the staff at Emerson for remaining calm and handling of the situation gracefully while waiting for the facts to unfold.  Emerson staff remained professional throughout and showed great concern for the students and families.

While we have all heard the following suggestions on how to prevent the spread of this flu, we want to repeat them again:

Please remember to wash your hands frequently, sneeze into your arm, get plenty of rest, see your doctor if you feel the symptoms of influenza (body aches, coughing, sneezing, high temp.) and stay home while you recover. The "bug" lasts about 2-3 hours on surfaces but the wiping down of door knobs and frequently touched/shared items is still a good idea.  The "bug" can lasts from 2-7 days in your body. 

The MN Department of Health is saying this flu is not presenting itself differently from other flu viruses at this time.  Because of that, they have changed their policy on school closings.

The Minneapolis Federation of Teachers has also been in touch with Education Minnesota to discuss precautions that MPS is currently taking.  We will stay in touch with Education Minnesota as needed.

In addition, we work with the District several times a day to stay informed on the latest developments.  Please watch your emails for updates.  If there is any news to report beyond what the District reports to you, we will let you know as soon as possible.

Please watch your emails for updates.  You can also check out the MDH (www.health.state.mn.us) and CDC (www.cdc.gov) websites for further information about H1N1 and prevention.  Note: The CDC has created podcasts in both English and Spanish, and will email updates if you register your email.  Check out MFT's website for more specific weblinks at: www.mft59.org.  

Please feel free to call or email if you have any questions.

Lynn Nordgren, President
Minneapolis Federation of Teachers
612-529-9621