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Three more East Tennessee schools have closed their doors in an attempt to break a cycle of illness that have recently gripped students and staff.

In Loudon County, North Middle School and Greenback School will be closed Wednesday through Friday and classes will resume next Monday.

Greenback School had reported 105 students -- or 16 percent of the school's student population -- and more than 11 teachers were absent as of Monday afternoon, said Joan Lovelace, administrative assistant to Loudon County Director of Schools Wayne Honeycutt.

North Middle School had reported 178 students -- or 21 percent of the school's student population -- were absent as of Monday, Lovelace said. School administrators have reported a "hodgepodge of illness," she said.

Loudon County school officials were having a difficult time finding substitute teachers for these schools, said Jason Vance, Loudon County's assistant director of schools. "So, we wanted to try to break the cycle."

The system's other seven schools have absentee rates between 5 and 9 percent, Vance said. School officials generally do not consider closing schools until absentee rates reach 20 percent, he said. "We're continuing to look at the numbers across the county, and we'll be monitoring the rest of our schools throughout the week."

School officials are asking parents to keep students home until they've been fever-free for at least 24 hours, Vance said. He said there was a possibility several more schools or the entire system could close later this week.

Monroe closings

In Monroe County, Madisonville Middle School will also be closed Wednesday through Friday. The school has reported a 30 percent absentee rate, said Tim Blankenship, Monroe County's assistant director of schools.

"We have had a couple of parental reports of their children having been diagnosed with the flu at their doctor's office. We have no confirmation of these flu reports being the H1N1 flu, but we do recommend you follow the Centers for Disease (Control and Prevention's guidelines) if your child is experiencing symptoms of the flu," according to a press release issued by the Monroe County School System.

Madisonville Middle School's clinic will be open from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. today. A nurse practitioner will be available to see children who need to see a medical provider but are unable to get into their primary care provider. The school-based clinic accepts all types of insurance.

"To keep illnesses from spreading to more people, we ask you to keep your children home. Socializing at other events will not help our preventive measures. All after-school activities associated with Madisonville Middle School are also suspended for the remainder of the week," the release said.

Alcoa City Schools closed Sept. 1 and Blount County Schools closed Sept. 2 because of high absentee rates in both system's schools. The systems resumed classes on Sept. 8 after the Labor Day holiday weekend.