Second day of school and already the frustrating stuff starts.
I got an email from one of the elementary school secretaries (she's great!) who told me a mom called to tell her that two kids who belong to someone else at school have scabies!! (mock horror). She identified the kids and mom.
My thought was to call that woman (which I did) and tell her if she is concerned she needs to call that mother and ask about it herself. Further, even if I knew, I can't talk to her about any private issues with students as that would be a violation (I didn't go into detail about HIPAA & FERPA). I did give her a general education about scabies though (no big freaking deal) and that calmed her down.
I was in another town 25 miles away and the principal of that elementary school insisted that I drive to her school and pull the girls out of class and check them for scabies. I told her that it takes skin-to-skin contact, that I don't want to reward rumor-mongers, that it sounded like the girls had already been medicated for it per the gossipy lady.
I attempted to get a hold of the mom of these girls but the home phone was disconnected and the cell phone went to voice mail.
So nope - no dice with the principal. I drove back and went to the two classrooms and just asked each girl individually to come outside with me for a sec. Both admitted that they had had scabies but it was last May and they had been medicated. There was NO sign of scabies. I didn't make a big deal out of it but I felt awful.
I did end up talking to mom finally tonight. She told me the whole story, which agreed with the daughter who said this happened last May. She's a bit peeved that someone can call the school and gossip about her girls. She was ok with me checking them but I really think this has more to do with I know her and she trusts me.
What do you guys think? If a parent calls to tattle about a medical condition, do you run and appease this crazy behavior? Or just try to ferret out the truth first?
(mock horror). She identified the kids and mom.