Updated:
Montrel Harris, a student at Jack Elementary School, is identified as Tyler ISD's first reported death linked to influenza.
In a letter sent home to parents, Principal Shauna Hittle says the student passed away due to an influenza associated death.
The district's director of communications, Angela Jenkins, says they are continuing to sanitize every campus.
"Particularly giving special attention to those high traffic areas-- door knobs, lockers, locker rooms, hand rails. Also what we implemented at the beginning of the school year was sanitation of our school buses on a daily basis," commented Director of Communications, Angela Jenkins.
Jenkins adds that the TISD sent out a district-wide letter today to inform all parents and students about the student's death.
The family of Montrel Harris cannot afford to pay for his funeral. Donations can be made to the: Montrel Harris Family Trust at Texas Bank and Trust.
A letter was sent home today to Jack Elementary students issued by Principal Shauna Hittle. The letter stated that Tyler ISD is sad to report that a student at Jack Elementary had passed away due to influenza-associated illness.
The child had underlying medical conditions and significant respiratory issues. The case has been confirmed as H1N1.
The letter reminded parents to keep kids home if they are sick.
An information meeting for the parents, conducted by the Northeast Texas Public Health District, will be held this Thursday at 6:30pm in the Jack Elementary cafeteria.
The following is the content of the letter sent home to students by Principal Hittle:
September 29, 2009
Dear Parents and Guardians:
Tyler ISD is sad to report that a student at Jack elementary has passed away due to an influenza associated death. Our thought and prayers are with the family as they go through this difficult time.
The child had underlying medical conditions and significant respiratory issues. The case has been confirmed as H1N1. We are working with local and state officials to monitor the situation, and at this time, schools will remain open and operating normally.
The best way to reduce the spread of H1N1 or any other virus is to practice good hygiene, and we encourage you to teach your children to wash their hands often, keep their hands away from their eyes, nose, and mouth, and cover coughs and sneezes with their sleeve or a tissue. For more prevention tips, visit www.texasflu.org or www.tylerisd.org.
Please keep your child home from school if he or she shows any flu symptoms, including fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headaches, chills, and fatigue, and contact your health care provider and the school immediately.
Students who are ill should stay home until at least 24 hours after they no longer have a fever, or signs of a fever, without the use of fever-reducing medicines.
Let me assure you that the health and well being of our students is my top priority, and we are doing everything possible to address the situation. As a precaution, since the start of school, Tyler ISD has implemented aggressive sanitation measures at all campuses. District staff members are frequently disinfecting common areas, such as hallways, lockers, doorknobs, and hand rails with a germicidal. As another precaution, Tyler ISD is also using this same germicidal spray to disinfect the interior of the school buses on a daily basis.
We are inviting our parents to an informational meeting with representatives from the District and the Northeast Texas Public Health District Thursday, October 1 at 6:30 p.m. in the Jack Elementary Cafetorium.
Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Shauna Hittle
Principal
"Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family as well as the TISD staff that are impacted by this."
Director George Roberts of the Northeast Texas Public Health District was one of the first to be notified of the death of a Jack Elementary student linked to the H1N1 flu virus.
Tyler ISD says the child had underlying medical conditions and significant respiratory issues. Health experts continue to stress the importance of three major ways to combat H1N1.
"We continue to urge the public. We know the H1N1 is in the community right now and we continue to urge the public handwashing is really big. Cover your cough, and also, if you're sick stay home from school or stay home from work," Roberts added.
Andy Bergfeld has two children enrolled at Jack Elementary in Tyler. He says his family used those precautions when they experienced at H1N1 scare at camp this summer.
"We've been through it as a family and we've sanitized our house and washed our hands every ten minutes it seemed like, but none of us caught it and we just dealt with it as it came," Bergfedl stated.
Bergfeld says hearing news that one of his children's classmates died, hits close to home.
"Having kids myself, it's just really sad any time you see something like that happen, so our first thoughts would be with that family," he commented.
Jack Elementary school will be open Wednesday for class.
We also want to let you know a parent information meeting will be held at 6:30, Thursday evening inside the Jack Elementary cafetorium.
Representatives from the TISD and the Northeast Texas Public Health District will be on hand to answer questions.
And we're told Tyler ISD is working on a letter to send home to all students district-wide Wednesday.
