Two Bronx Schools Close Over Flu-Related Absences
To view our videos, you need to
enable JavaScript. Learn how.
install Adobe Flash 9 or above. Install now.
Then come back here and refresh the page.
In response to the concern over H1N1, two schools in the Bronx have now closed temporarily and have become the first in the borough to do so. NY1's Dean Meminger filed the following report.At the South Bronx Charter School, the board of trustees decided to close their doors for a week Tuesday because so many students have flu-like symptoms.
The charter school which has three locations in Mott Haven says more than half of the second grade class, including staff, have been out sick.
One third grader says a lot of his classmates are sneezing and coughing.
The school sent home letters about the situation but also stated that so far, they've had no confirmed cases of H1N1.
But there is a big concern at P.S. 49, where the South Bronx Charter School shares the building. Although the charter school is closing, the city is not closing P.S. 49 and parents are wondering why.
"They are all in the same building, so if that school closes, I suggest the whole school should close," said one concerned parent.
"I'm worried, because the kids are always together. Regardless if they are on different floors," said another concerned parent.
In the north Bronx, the pricey and private Horace Mann School is closing its Riverdale campus because so many of its students have flu-like symptoms.
Students and parents say it's the right move.
"There are a lot of people in the lower division that are sick, so they are just taking precautions right now," said one student at the Horace Mann School.
"I think it is important that they close the school for a few days," said one parent.
The staff at Horace Mann emailed parents about the closure on Tuesday. The campus' 1,600 students will be allowed to return to school next Tuesday.
Students say the school year is basically over and they only have final exams to take.
"I'm both happy and upset. Upset that kids in the community are sick but I'm happy because I have off a couple of days to study and relax," said one student.