WINDHAM — Students started to return to school yesterday after more than a third of Windham Middle School students were absent Monday.
School officials were concerned they might have to close schools earlier in the week when 200 students at Windham Middle School were absent, many of them with a flu-like illness.
Superintendent Frank Bass called the state commissioner of education to question whether the school should remain open when a third of its students were at home.
But Bass said yesterday the district is no longer in danger of closing any schools due to the flu.
The high school was at a normal level and the two elementary schools were only a little higher than normal yesterday.
"It's certainly nothing that would be alarming," Bass said.
The middle school was the only school that still had a high number of absences, but Bass said the flu has stopped spreading through the school population.
"We're not hearing a lot of new cases," he said.
Parents reported to school officials that the illness was fast moving and students were healthy again within three to four days, Bass said.
Students were not in school Tuesday because of a teacher in-service day, so all four schools were given a thorough cleaning.
Classrooms might look a little different today as teachers are trying to separate students as much as possible, Bass said.
Desks that have been grouped together have been moved apart to limit the spread of germs, he said.
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