[quintushoratius]

Supposedly, the February break that New England school districts follow was designed to stop the flu. Take everyone out of school for a week to stop the spread, hope that everyone that shows symptoms by the end of the week stays home.

Of course, that doesn't work when kids still go to school when sick, which they do. When I was a kid the school used to give awards to kids with perfect attendance. Now February break seems to be an annoyance for most parents and they find daycare alternatives, as well as sending marginal (or even outright sick!) children to school.