Parents Are Asked To Take Kids Home After Staph Case

The SEED public charter school asked parents late yesterday to take home students who live at the boarding school in Southeast Washington after a student there was treated for a staph infection, school officials said last night.

The student is being treated at an area hospital. School officials said it was unclear whether the possible infection might be the methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA.

"We took this measure for precautionary purposes in the best interest of all the children and adults who are on campus," said Rajiv Vinnakota, co-founder and trustee of the School for Educational Evolution and Development.

The school, in the Marshall Heights neighborhood, boards all of its 320 students, who range from grades 7 to 12.

Reports of the antibiotic-resistant germ started circulating around the country in recent weeks, and concerns about MRSA heightened after the death of a student in Bedford County, in southern Virginia, last week.

There have been reports of staph at schools in Anne Arundel, Howard, Montgomery, Fairfax and Prince William counties and in Alexandria.

Vinnakota said SEED planned to disinfect the classrooms and residential quarters today.

It was not immediately clear when classes would resume, but, Vinnakota said, officials would contact parents with further instructions.