The average number of students absent from schools this week has risen to nearly 11 percent in Centralia, according to school officials on Wednesday.

    In individual schools, the numbers vary widely. At Edison Elementary, for example, the rate of absenteeism on Wednesday was 15 percent, according to data from the district’s enrollment office.

    “I would say that this is a little above the normal rate of absenteeism that we would expect for this time of year,” said Centralia Superintendent Steve Bodner. “It’s a little early for the cold season.”

    This number may be higher simply because schools have been pushing for parents to keep kids home when they are sick and keep them home until at least one day after body temperature returns to normal, he said.

    Students at the school yesterday afternoon said not only were there a lot of kids out, many teachers were missing. Emily Smith, a sophomore at Centralia High School, said three of her six teachers were absent on Wednesday. Laresa Ralls, also a sophomore, said five of her six teachers were absent. Substitute teachers filled in for all classes.

    “We had to watch ‘Gladiator’ today because half of my video production class were out sick,” said Shanin Clancy, a senior.

    In Chehalis, officials are seeing the number of absent students decrease from earlier reports in the middle and high schools, but the average remains a little above 10 percent, said assistant superintendent Mary Lou Bissett.

    What these numbers do not explain is how many of those 10 to 11 percent of absentees are home sick and how many are out for other reasons.

    “The schools don’t break it down and say which number of those absent are sick and which are out hunting or at dentist appointments,” said Marie Tucker, Lewis County health educator.

    A breakdown of the number of children actually out sick would make Tucker’s job of reporting to the state health department easier.

    Lewis County has an agreement with areas schools which states that student absenteeism over 10 percent will be reported to the health department to be passed along to the state, but in reality the schools usually wait until close to 12 percent, if they report at all, Tucker said.

    Trying to break the percent average down further into those absent specifically for illness would be difficult, according to Bodner.

    “It would be very hard to isolate those numbers,” he said. “Sometimes we don’t know for sure why students are absent until after the fact. And often they are out for more than one reason.”

    Despite high rates of absenteeism in school and several reports of swine flu-related deaths in the state, Tucker stressed that parents and others shouldn’t panic about illness this season.

    “Our stance is that the H1N1 virus is no more deadly than other kinds of flu,” she said. “Ultimately it is up to us to protect ourselves. Wash hands, cover coughs, and sneeze into your sleeve.”

    Dian McClurg is a former Chronicle reporter and current freelance writer living near Silver Creek. She can be reached at dlmcclurg@tds.net.