ATHENS, Ala. – The flu epidemic continues to hit throughout Alabama, and many school districts in the state have been forced to shut down temporarily in order to allow students to recover.

Some schools have also allowed sick students to complete their school work at home so they don`t have to worry about falling behind if they are sick.

Athens Middle School is waving the need for students to get permission to access their E-learning programs. Students who are sick can log in to complete their coursework without getting permission from faculty.

Vice Principal Graham Aderholt explained the reasoning for allowing access at home is twofold.

“Our E-Learning Ties in with two pieces really,” he said. “The first piece being our innovative compliance piece with the state. The second being it allows our students to spend time at home when they’re not well working instead of being out for five to seven days, and then returning back and having to make up all the work at one time.”

If students log in at home, they are still able to claim perfect attendance. The students are able to access all of the materials they would have seen in the classroom. It’s almost like they were there.

“It’s not like they’re missing actual instruction time because the E-learning thing, that’s part of it, is doing what they’re doing in the classroom, just not doing it at school,” Aderholt continued. ” [Students are] doing it at home.”

Athens Middle School has a One-to-One program so every student has a Mac Laptop that was provided by the school. So every student is able to access the E-Learning Program.

The ability for students to access the E-Learning programs lets them keep up with school without spreading the flu.