Infections Put Administrators to the Test

Resistant staph cases require swift response to secure public confidence, while avoiding panic.

Superintendents and school principals nationwide are working to find the right balance in easing public concerns about a drug-resistant bacterium that has sickened students in dozens of states so far this year and caused the reported deaths of at least four young people in the last month.

Even as they move aggressively to make sure that schools are safe and clean, officials say they must guard against setting off panic at schools where students have been diagnosed with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus , or MRSA, infections.

The key, school leaders say, is releasing accurate information to parents and students quickly, while collaborating closely with school-based...