From the SSCPS Health Office: New COVID-19 Testing Program

Dear SSCPS Families,

We are seeking ways to bring all of our students back to school safely. We are starting a voluntary free weekly COVID-19 testing program to help keep our students, staff, and community safe and help prevent the spread of COVID-19. Regular COVID-19 testing of students and staff is intended to help us lower the risk of disease in our school by finding positive cases of COVID-19 quickly. This pooled testing program will also help identify positive cases in people who do not show any symptoms. Testing will allow us to continue in-person learning while making everyone feel safer when in-person. 

We hope that you will participate by signing a consent form for your student. The higher the percentage of participation, the safer school will be. 

What is the COVID-19 pooled testing program?

• Participating students will be tested for COVID-19 once a week by our nurses in the SSCPS Health Office
• The test is performed at school
• COVID-19 pooled testing is quick, easy, and it does not hurt. It is a nasal test that gently swabs the lower inner nostril, and most students will be able to swab themselves. 
• We will accommodate all students' needs to help them feel comfortable during the test
• The test is free. You do not need to pay for the test or have insurance to get the test.
• The optional program begins on March 15, 2021

How can my student participate in the program?
To participate in the testing program, please sign a consent form for your students. You only need to sign up once for the weekly testing. This form gives us permission to share student information with the technology platform we use to track testing. Student information will only be shared with the Department of Public Health and other departments if a student tests positive in an individual test. Please sign up electronically by checking your email for a link which will be sent out under separate cover. If you need assistance with the link, please call the SSCPS Health Office. 

The program is voluntary. Students are not required to participate in the program. If you do not consent to participate, your student can still come to school. We strongly encourage all students to participate to help us reduce the spread of COVID-19. 

How does it work?
The type of testing we are using is called "pooled testing." Pooled testing makes it easier and faster to find individuals who might have COVID-19. Here is how it works:

• Participating students are testing individually once a week with a nasal swab. Most students will be able to swab themselves.
• Immediately following, ten swabs will be placed in the same tube, creating a group of swabs called a "pool." The pool is sent to a lab where the whole pool is tested for COVID-19 at one time.
• If the pool test comes back negative, all students in the pool are COVID-negative. No further action is necessary.
• If the pool test comes back positive, it means that at least one person in the pool is COVID-positive. In this case, all students in that pool will return to school the next morning for an individual follow-up test. 
• Individual follow-up tests will be done with BinaxNOW which produce results in 15 minutes. If the individual follow-up test comes back negative, the student returns to school as normal. If the individual follow-up test comes back positive, we will work with families to make arrangements to have the student quarantine and get connected to care. The local board of health may also reach out to start the contact tracing process.

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Learn more about the SSCPS COVID-19 Testing Program on the SSCPS Health Office website.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact one of the SSCPS Health Office nurses:

Susan Dupras, RN [email protected]
Darcie Edwards, RN [email protected]
Barbara Folan, RN [email protected]
Jaime Kjelgaard, RN [email protected]

--
Alicia E. Savage
Executive Director
South Shore Charter Public School
781.982.4202 Ext. 101
www.sscps.org