Like several parents who live in the apartment complex across from Sam Tasby Middle School, Cynthia Black kept her daughter home from school Thursday due to the recent diagnosis of a man with Ebola.
She said one of the students who came in contact with Ebola patient Thomas Eric Duncan attended the elementary school and was still in class Wednesday.
“The health department, the police and somebody else came to her classroom,” added Black.
Officials with the Dallas Independent School District confirmed one student did come to class Wednesday and was sent home. But DISD officials have said several times that none of those students have shown any symptoms of Ebola, and people are only infectious if they are symptomatic.
During a news conference, Superintendent Mike Miles said attendance at the schools being watched was 86 percent. The usual number is 96 percent.
“We are down a little bit, but I think the message is getting out. That is why you have that high of the percentage of the kids attending school and we think that number is going to grow,” said Miles.
This morning, some parents who sent their kids to school said they were cautious.
“I’m worried. And it was a big decision today: Should I let her go? But I think in the best interest of my baby, she should be in school,” said parent Ashley Jackson.
