FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – A school librarian just back from a vacation to China will stay home from school for 10 days because of parents' fears of SARS, school officials said.
Gayle Grossman decided to use sick days after parents said they would keep at least 10 children home from Bayview Elementary School, starting Monday.
Grossman wanted to put parents' minds at ease and didn't want children missing class on her account, said school district spokesman Kirk Englehardt.
Virginia Gabriel had planned to keep her son home if Grossman went to work.
"I think that's a good idea and very thoughtful," Gabriel said. "I'm not at all surprised. She's a very considerate person."
Grossman checked with her doctor before taking her long-planned spring-break trip to China, where severe acute respiratory syndrome first emerged.
Earlier, schools Superintendent Verda Farrow had said that Grossman would not be asked to stay home if she felt healthy and had "every right to come back."
Worldwide, SARS has killed at least 330 people, mostly in Asia, since it surfaced in November. There have been suspected cases but no SARS deaths in the United States.
Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox