On Oct. 21, 1918, Detroit board of health and school officials decided to close all public, private, and parochial schools. School Superintendent Charles Chadsey estimated that 15% of the city’s approximately 100,000 students were out sick or being kept at home, thus interfering with the ability of schools to complete their educational mission.

Chadsey had previously instructed teachers and principals to screen all students for symptoms of influenza and to exclude any that were suspected of having the disease, and asked employers to do the same with their workers.