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Dear KIPP Texas Team and Family,
At KIPP Texas Public Schools, the safety of our students and staff is our top priority. You may have heard or seen in recent local news that there are reports detailing the spread of measles in and around Texas. While there has been no impact or cases on our schools, we are taking proactive measures and want to share important information with our families.
If you suspect your child of having highly infectious measles, please keep them at home and call your healthcare provider. The school nurse cannot diagnose a case of measles. Your healthcare provider will provide guidance for care and testing.
Measles typically begins with:
- High fever (may spike to more than 104°)
- Cough
- Runny nose (coryza)
- Red, watery eyes (conjunctivitis)
2–3 days after symptoms begin: Koplik spots
- Tiny white spots (Koplik spots) may appear inside the mouth two to three days after symptoms begin.
3–5 days after symptoms begin: measles rash
- Measles rash appears 3 to 5 days after the first symptoms. It usually begins as flat red spots that appear on the face at the hairline. Then spread downward to the neck, trunk, arms, legs, and feet.
- Small raised bumps may also appear on top of the flat red spots.
- The spots may become joined together as they spread from the head to the rest of the body.
- A person’s fever may spike to more than 104° Fahrenheit when the rash appears.
If your child is having severe symptoms such as difficulty breathing, call 911 or go to the emergency room and inform them immediately that you think that your child may have measles.
If your child is diagnosed with measles, please notify the school nurse and/or school leader immediately so that we can try to contain possible exposures.
We want to ensure that our families know what to do and what to watch out for to protect their children. Because these are highly contagious diseases, we ask for your assistance in recognizing symptoms and taking preventative action.
The best way to protect against measles is to get the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine, also called MMR, which doctors recommend for all children. Texas State law also mandates immunization compliance for school entry and attendance. You are welcome to check with your school nurse to verify immunization compliance. If your child receives new vaccines, please provide your school nurse with a copy of your updated vaccination record. If your child has been vaccinated with the measles vaccine, the likelihood of them contracting measles is very low.
Please note, according to Title 25 of the Texas Administrative Code (TAC) Rule §97.7(a)(15), schools must exclude all unimmunized children for at least 21 days after the last date the child was exposed to someone with measles.
If you are concerned or symptoms appear, we encourage you to consult your healthcare provider for further guidance.
We will continue to network with local health departments and take preventative action as needed. Thank you for your support on this matter as we continue to do our best to keep all our Team and Family healthy across our schools.
Sincerely,
Dr. Lisa Blackmon-Jones, DNP, RN, NCSN
KIPP Texas Senior Director of School Health Services
