Local schools diligent in hygiene policies amid measles outbreak concerns

OAK PARK, Mich. (FOX 2) - While the list of potential measles exposure sites continues to grow in Oak Park, the principal of a local preschool is taking it in stride.

Jennifer Kidd is the supervisor of early childhood education for the Berkley school district.

"We have lots of things in place, lots of systems that are helping us to make sure that we are very diligent to keep the outbreaks out of here," she said. "Obviously it's a big concern within our communities so we're working really hard as we do every day to make sure that our kids are safe in this building."

Their program follows state of Michigan guidelines. Kidd says there are certain regulations that they have to follow every day, including the three-step process for sanitizing.

"We are using soap and water, we're rinsing, we're sanitizing," she said.

Some common courtesy comes into play, like coughing into elbows or making sure they use tissues. While the first line of defense is good hygiene, the second line of defense is spotting the symptoms.

"Every day when our children come in, we do spot well checks. So if there were ever a time that we noticed a rash or goopy eyes or a fever, something along those lines, of course we're going to spot that right away," Kidd said.

If you have even the slightest inkling that your child may have developed a virus, officials ask that you keep them at home.