TRAVERSE CITY -- Three more local schools are closed today due to flu-like illness.
Traverse City College Preparatory Academy, Blair Elementary and Traverse Bay Christian School shut down after large numbers of students were absent with flu-like symptoms, school administrators said.
Area health professionals believe the H1N1 influenza strain known as swine flu is back. Traverse City West Middle School also is closed today after about 250 students reported they were sick this week.
Fifteen students were absent Wednesday from the college-prep charter high school in East Bay Township and another six went home ill, school leader Marguerite Forrest said. The figure is about 30 percent of its 72 students.
The school will reopen Monday.
At Blair Elementary, to be closed today and Monday, 68 students were absent as of 12:30 p.m. Thursday, said Jame McCall, executive director of elementary and special education for Traverse City Area Public Schools.
That's more than 23 percent of the 290 students enrolled for a Sept. 30 head count.
The number of absences doubled overnight, district spokeswoman Alison Arnold said.
"This isn't a holiday," Arnold said. "As we close these schools, it's really to prevent the spread."
Parents of ill students should e-mail Blair Principal Sharon Dionne at dionnesh@tcaps.net between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. Monday to update their children's conditions. A notice will be sent out by 7 p.m. Monday to confirm whether school will be held Tuesday.
Jason Harding, principal of the K-6 Traverse Bay Christian, said his school will close today and possibly Monday.
Sixteen of 50 students, or 32 percent, were absent Thursday, he said.
Schools that closed in the middle of testing for the Michigan Educational Assessment Program, or MEAP, could receive an extension on the testing period until Nov. 4 from the Michigan Department of Education.
The department said extensions will be granted to schools or districts that closed or have high numbers of absences due to illness. They have until 5 p.m. Monday to apply.
Dr. Michael Collins, medical director for the Grand Traverse and Benzie-Leelanau health departments, said tentative school vaccine clinics scheduled to begin next week could be delayed if enough vaccine isn't available.
He added that a clinic for groups considered high-risk, including pregnant women and infants, is being discussed for this weekend.
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