Campbell Elementary - Ongoing lice problem

Anonymous
This is a problem in other elementary schools in APS too, OP.

We were in a 22207 elem school, lice had apparently been rampant in my kid's class for MONTHS but the school never told us. So I didn't know to check my kid's head and by the time I found the lice, that kid had a raging problem and had already spread it to the rest of us. It would have been so much better if the school had told us there was a problem in that class, we would have checked and been able to catch it much sooner. It was really a nightmare with the level of infestation we had. Called one of the lice services and it took the nice lice lady HOURS to comb through all of our hair. I think even she was a little surprised how bad it was (this was our first experience with lice so we were a little clueless).

When this happened in a different class - same school - another mom got so fed up with the school doing NOTHING that she emailed the entire class to let everyone know there was a lice problem and with advice to check your kids, etc. That was really helpful but sad that a parent had to do that.



Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Isn't school out for the summer? Why are you whining about this now?


+1. Seems a little late for this particular post.


Cuz I found out on the last day of school. I am whining as you say because it is an ongoing problem and I am considering pulling my child out. Yes kids in our neighborhood school get lice as well but based on my conversations with parents it seems to be much worse at Campbell.


The school is going to need to follow the Health Department's guidelines, which is sounds like they are.

I'm confused how this was a huge problem, and you didn't even find out about it until the last day of school.

Getting lice is part of having an elementary school student in the U.S., and has been since I was in elementary school. It happens. Sometimes, there are a lot of cases in one school. Next year it will be another school. It's not that Campbell is doing something specific, it's that that's how lice work.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:Ugh, I'm so sorry OP. At least the school year is over and the summer hopefully can be a reset. At my kids' old elementary lice was a huge problem and the only solution I could find was to fanatically wake up an extra 20 minutes early every morning to braid my two daughter's long hair each and every day. Add in some hair spray for good measure. : ) No other attempt at putting hair "up" short of braids or buns (i.e. half-ups, pony tails) were sufficient.


Fanatically wake up?

If your child's hair is long enough that it takes 10 minutes to braid, that's a choice you made.
Anonymous
Maybe teach your kids not to touch heads, share hats/hairbands/other head-related things. And if you have girls, put their long hair up in braids instead of loose and scraggly.

In other words, be a parent.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Isn't school out for the summer? Why are you whining about this now?


+1. Seems a little late for this particular post.


Cuz I found out on the last day of school. I am whining as you say because it is an ongoing problem and I am considering pulling my child out. Yes kids in our neighborhood school get lice as well but based on my conversations with parents it seems to be much worse at Campbell.


You need to get help if your anxiety is such that you would pull your kids out of school because of lice. Lice is a nothing-burger problem. Keep your children's hair short or if it's long, put it up. Check for lice with a lot of conditioner and a lice comb in the bath once a week. If you find some, then comb every day for a week.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:Ugh, I'm so sorry OP. At least the school year is over and the summer hopefully can be a reset. At my kids' old elementary lice was a huge problem and the only solution I could find was to fanatically wake up an extra 20 minutes early every morning to braid my two daughter's long hair each and every day. Add in some hair spray for good measure. : ) No other attempt at putting hair "up" short of braids or buns (i.e. half-ups, pony tails) were sufficient.


Why does it take 20 minutes to braid your kids' hair?
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Isn't school out for the summer? Why are you whining about this now?


+1. Seems a little late for this particular post.


Cuz I found out on the last day of school. I am whining as you say because it is an ongoing problem and I am considering pulling my child out. Yes kids in our neighborhood school get lice as well but based on my conversations with parents it seems to be much worse at Campbell.


You need to get help if your anxiety is such that you would pull your kids out of school because of lice. Lice is a nothing-burger problem. Keep your children's hair short or if it's long, put it up. Check for lice with a lot of conditioner and a lice comb in the bath once a week. If you find some, then comb every day for a week.


OP you’re nuts. Lice happens. Yes it sucks but it happens. Where is this magical lice free school you plan to put your kids??
Anonymous
It seems that lice have been a problem in elementary schools. As a mother of 4 I hope that this can somehow be solved!
https://skinlyaesthetics.com/
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:Ugh, I'm so sorry OP. At least the school year is over and the summer hopefully can be a reset. At my kids' old elementary lice was a huge problem and the only solution I could find was to fanatically wake up an extra 20 minutes early every morning to braid my two daughter's long hair each and every day. Add in some hair spray for good measure. : ) No other attempt at putting hair "up" short of braids or buns (i.e. half-ups, pony tails) were sufficient.


Thanks! My daughter’s hair is short but super thick. Used to put it in braids but now it’s too short for that so doing a bun. I just wish they told me before and I would be checking more regularly. I’m gonna make sure I check every day once school starts again.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:Maybe teach your kids not to touch heads, share hats/hairbands/other head-related things. And if you have girls, put their long hair up in braids instead of loose and scraggly.

In other words, be a parent.


Not sure what you are talking about. Of course I teach her that. I used to braid my daughter’s hair but now I put it up in a bun because it’s too short for braids.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:This is a problem in other elementary schools in APS too, OP.

We were in a 22207 elem school, lice had apparently been rampant in my kid's class for MONTHS but the school never told us. So I didn't know to check my kid's head and by the time I found the lice, that kid had a raging problem and had already spread it to the rest of us. It would have been so much better if the school had told us there was a problem in that class, we would have checked and been able to catch it much sooner. It was really a nightmare with the level of infestation we had. Called one of the lice services and it took the nice lice lady HOURS to comb through all of our hair. I think even she was a little surprised how bad it was (this was our first experience with lice so we were a little clueless).

When this happened in a different class - same school - another mom got so fed up with the school doing NOTHING that she emailed the entire class to let everyone know there was a lice problem and with advice to check your kids, etc. That was really helpful but sad that a parent had to do that.





So it’s not just us Yes this is exactly what is happening in Campbell. I found out about the lice from a parent Thursday night, checked my daughter’s hair Friday morning and lo and behold she had nits. If it weren’t for the other parent we wouldn’t have known. She just got lice last March so this is the second time My daughter’s hair is so thick that it was a nightmare last time. This time I took her to that lice place in Falls Church and forked out the money.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Isn't school out for the summer? Why are you whining about this now?


+1. Seems a little late for this particular post.


Cuz I found out on the last day of school. I am whining as you say because it is an ongoing problem and I am considering pulling my child out. Yes kids in our neighborhood school get lice as well but based on my conversations with parents it seems to be much worse at Campbell.


So your kid never actually got lice, but you’re considering pulling them out of school for next year anyway in case there is still live next year?

Every elementary school gets lice. I guess you could homeschool?


She got lice in March and nits this Friday.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:From the Arlington County website:

What is your lice management plan?

The role of School Health staff in lice management is to:

Provide education to parents, children and staff about head lice
Help identify students with head lice
Make recommendations to parents about treatment of head lice
Check groups of students for head lice when that is appropriate
We work in conjunction with families and teachers to identify lice and with health providers to treat and manage lice infestations.

https://www.arlingtonva.us/Government/Programs/Health/Public-Health/School-Health/School-Health-FAQ


Campbell doesn’t do any of that.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:From the Arlington County website:

What is your lice management plan?

The role of School Health staff in lice management is to:

Provide education to parents, children and staff about head lice
Help identify students with head lice
Make recommendations to parents about treatment of head lice
Check groups of students for head lice when that is appropriate
We work in conjunction with families and teachers to identify lice and with health providers to treat and manage lice infestations.

https://www.arlingtonva.us/Government/Programs/Health/Public-Health/School-Health/School-Health-FAQ


Campbell doesn’t do any of that.


Campbell definitely sent home letters when a 2nd grade class had lice this year. That’s literally all they can do and it goes through the school nurse, not admin. You should assume if one kid has lice, more do too. And also assume not all parents are on top of it so it’s possible that some kids won’t get treatment and keep spreading it. This isn’t a Campbell problem- this is all every elementary school can do. Our friends at Claremont got it from school last spring in hybrid and all they got was a letter too.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:From the Arlington County website:

What is your lice management plan?

The role of School Health staff in lice management is to:

Provide education to parents, children and staff about head lice
Help identify students with head lice
Make recommendations to parents about treatment of head lice
Check groups of students for head lice when that is appropriate
We work in conjunction with families and teachers to identify lice and with health providers to treat and manage lice infestations.

https://www.arlingtonva.us/Government/Programs/Health/Public-Health/School-Health/School-Health-FAQ


Campbell doesn’t do any of that.


The nurse isn’t even an APS employee. School Health is from the County, and has the same policy across all schools. If one school isn’t following the written policy, you can be sure none are. Lice sucks, but it’s not Campbell’s fault. My kid got it from a rec sport teammate who is an MPSA student that we were carpooling with. Parent didn’t mention they had it until after I discovered it and warned her. She was like, oh yeah, oops, we’ve had it for weeks and can’t get rid of it because we’re only trying “natural” treatments.🙄


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