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Multiple Southwest Virginia Schools closed due to flu outbreaks and lack of staff

FRANKLIN COUNTY, Va. – Multiple schools in our area have closed this week due to a flu outbreak that has affected students and staff. Snow Creek Elementary, Christian Heritage Academy, and Natural Bridge Elementary have temporarily closed due to the outbreak.

Part of the reason for the closure is the lack of substitute teachers to fill in for staff members who have come down with the flu, with Christian Heritage saying the lack of faculty leaves them unable to provide adequate classroom coverage.

“We just could not staff the school for the day,” Josh Smallwood, the Head of School at Christian Heritage Academy, said. “We got a lot of really good substitutes that are faithful, but we do not have that amount of substitutes to cover that amount of teachers and faculty and staff that are out.”

Meanwhile, Snow Creek says that around 30% of its student body is out due to flu-like symptoms.

Both students and faculty report that they have symptoms such as headaches, high temperatures and high fevers.

“Students would show up in the morning saying, ‘I don’t feel great,' the nurse would take their temperature and they’d be fine,” Rockbridge County Schools Superintendent Phillip Thompson said. “Two hours later they’d be up over 100.”

The schools have been trying their hardest to sanitize their schools and classrooms to try and take out all of the germs within their classrooms and hallways.

The hope is to open up the schools again as soon as possible.


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About the Author
Jason Freund headshot

Jason Freund is a Multimedia Journalist with WSLS 10 who had spent two and half years reporting in West Texas before moving to Roanoke in January 2025.