School absences are climbing in the Valley as the flu spreads.

At Luray High School Tuesday, school administrators say more than 22 percent of students either called in sick or went home sick. That amounts to 120 of the school's 537 students.

At Page County High School, 77 of the school's roughly 600 students were absent Tuesday.

Whitney Good-Spitler has been trying to get over the flu for days.

"[It's] really hard just trying to put up with everything. The sore throat is really what gets you, and the coughing," says Good-Spitler.

Her three siblings are also showing flu symptoms. Her mom, Angela Fruck, is taking care of all four of them.

"It takes a lot out of you. And you have to miss work, but you have to take care of your kids. Because when Whitney got sick, her fever went up to 104.1 [degrees]," says Fruck."

A lot of activities at Good-Spitler's school, Luray High School, were canceled Tuesday.

The scoreboard at Shenandoah Elementary has remained inactive on many recent nights.

Michael Wheeler works for the the Town of Shenandoah and coaches kids' basketball.

"We were supposed to have games last night, and those got canceled. The game tonight after this little kids' game has been canceled because we don't have enough to fit the teams because everybody's getting sick," says Wheeler.

Wheeler saw the flu spread among young kids last week. Now, he says it's reaching older students.

Michele Freeze has two kids who recently got better. She's concerned she hasn't heard more from school administrators.

"Now, at the beginning of the school year, of course [school administrators] were very cautious. 'If your child's sick, please do not send them to school.' Hand sanitizers and washing their hands several times daily. But during the whole virus outbreak, [they made] no contact with the parents at all with notes," says Freeze.

"I had no clue this many people would get infected by this," says Good-Spitler.

For now, she's just trying to catch up on school work as best she can with help from her mom. She hopes to be back at school Thursday.

"If your child is sick, don't send them to school. Because they're just infecting everybody else. And then, people can keep getting this," says Fruck.

Page County Schools Superintendent Randy Thomas declined a request for an interview, saying he didn't want to magnify the issue.

One school in Augusta County is also reporting a spike in absences.

Wilson Memorial High School Principal Doug Shifflett says, of 765 students, about 100 have called in sick each school day for the last week. In addition, ten to 15 students are being sent home sick each day.

Shifflett says only 60 students will call in tardy or absent on an average day.

Five teachers are also out sick.

Dr. Doug Larsen at the Central Shenandoah Health District says students and parents can stay healthy at school, by following a few healthy habits.

He offers the following suggestions:
- Cough or sneeze into your sleeve, not hand.
- Practice social distancing when possible, which means keeping at least six feet away from others.
- Wash your hands often and wipe down communal objects. For students, this could be computer keys in a lab or door handles.
- Don't share utensils, straws or food with others.
- Parents with a sick child need to isolate that child in a room separate from the rest of the family.