Health Services and Pooled Testing Update 9/7/21
Thank you for your continued support as we kick off the 2021-2022 school year. At Hanover Public Schools, keeping your students safe and in school is our top priority. We have learned a great deal over this past year and our current guidance and procedures reflect the most updated recommendations from the CDC and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. Please be assured that we understand there are many varied perspectives on the health and safety protocols (and requirements) we are working to implement. We are offering options for families regarding voluntary COVID-19 testing with the intention of keeping students and staff in school as much as possible, and we offer these services with the best of intentions.
As we mentioned in our last health services update, this year we are offering an optional COVID-19 testing program as an extra layer of protection to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in our schools. This program has three components:
- Symptomatic testing for students who show symptoms of COVID-19 at school
- Routine COVID safety checks to prevent the spread of the virus undetected among students who are not showing symptoms
- Test and stay for students who may have been exposed while in school but are not showing symptoms.
Each of these is a quick, non-invasive nasal swab that is collected under the supervision of a school nurse or trained health provider. Unlike COVID-19 tests of the past, these are not uncomfortable and easy for students to do themselves.
Students only participate with permission from a parent or guardian. Below, we describe each of the three parts of our testing program, how they are conducted, and what they are used for.
Symptomatic testing is used when a student is showing symptoms of COVID-19 during school; students should not come to school if they are feeling sick while at home. Some symptoms of the virus look identical to other illnesses like the cold or flu, and this test tells us whether a symptomatic student has COVID-19 or not. This is a rapid test, and we receive the results of this test within 15 minutes. If a student has minimal symptoms and tests negative, they can remain in school.
Routine COVID safety checks minimize disruption to learning by helping us catch the potential spread of the virus before it starts. Each student administers the safety check on a weekly basis. Samples are collected at school in groups of 5-10 individuals. The samples are grouped together at school. Once the samples get to the lab, all the samples in the group are tested for COVID-19 together. In almost all cases, it will take less than 24 hours to receive safety check results. Students can continue to come to school while awaiting safety check results; they do not need to quarantine while awaiting results. If a safety check test is positive, the students in the group will take individual tests at school to determine which student(s) in the group produced the positive test.
Test and stay allows students who have had close contact with a person who tested positive for COVID-19 while at school to stay in school if the student is not showing symptoms. Instead of needing to quarantine and miss school, these students will take a daily rapid test while they remain in school as long as they are not symptomatic. Students participate in test and stay for at least five days after they may have been exposed.
If a student tests positive for COVID-19, they must quarantine at home for the CDC-recommended ten days since symptoms appeared or ten days since the positive test before returning to school. The student must also be without a fever for 24 hours.
According to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, students who are vaccinated are much less likely to spread or contract the virus, however, it is important for us to create an inclusive environment for both vaccinated and unvaccinated students.
To participate in the program, you must electronically sign the consent on behalf of your student by logging onto Aspen, and clicking on the “Initiate” button under the “COVID-19 Testing Consent” bar, located on the Aspen home page. You must complete a consent form for each of your children.
Testing will begin tomorrow, September 8, 2021. Center and Cedar Schools will have routine testing on Wednesdays, and HHS and HMS will have routine testing on Thursdays.
There is no charge for participating. To learn more about our COVID-19 testing program, please visit https://www.doe.mass.edu/covid19/testing. If you have additional questions regarding the program, please contact your school nurse or the HPS Director of Health Services.,
It is our hope that these measures will work together to keep our schools safe and your student in school. Thank you again for your support.
Sincerely,
Patricia Smith, BSN, RN, NCSN
Director of Health Services
psmith@hanoverschools.org
781-878-5450, ext. 7405