A small school district in Kansas is moving up winter break after a surge of student and staff illnesses, saying it wants to slow the spread before families gather for the holidays.
On Monday, Dec. 15, Dexter Schools USD #471 announced that classes would end at the close of the school day and resume after the New Year.
“We are going through a tremendous amount of sickness right now and it seems to be spreading at a very high rate. Due to a high number of students and staff illnesses and the rate at which it continues to climb we will be dismissing for the semester at the end of the day today, Monday, December 15, 2025,” the district told parents in a statement shared on Facebook.
Scheduled events — including extracurricular competitions and holiday parties — will be postponed to the next semester or cancelled, the district said. Officials added that the decision was also aimed at protecting extended family members during holiday visits.
“Not only are we concerned with student and staff sickness now we don’t want to continue to spread the sickness and end up with students taking it to their extended families (grandma and grandpa) over the holiday break,” the statement continued.
The district’s winter break had originally been set to begin Dec. 22.
Superintendent and Principal K.B. Criss told ABC News the number of illnesses rose quickly Monday morning. Out of roughly 300 students, he said about 25% to 35% were absent within the first hour of the school day.
“The phone was ringing off the wall of kids being sick,” Criss said. “I think by nine o’clock, we had between 40 and 50 families call, and that’s a large percent of our student body.”
Criss also described a wide range of symptoms being reported among students and staff, including vomiting, diarrhea, body aches, fevers, bronchitis, strep throat, and severe headaches. He added that congestion, coughing, and fever were also common.
On the Dexter Schools USD #471 website, the district said it would offer free testing for Flu A/B, RSV, Strep A and COVID.
The district said it had contacted the school nurse for comment but had not yet received a response.
In its message to parents, the district thanked families for their support and said it plans to reopen for the second semester on Monday, January 5, 2026.
In a follow-up post on Tuesday, Dec. 16, the school added that “Christmas is NOT CANCELLED in PK3-6th grade,” saying celebrations would instead take place on Jan. 5 “with our regularly scheduled Christmas parties and pajama day!”
