Important Information Regarding Pooled Testing 2/4/21

In our ongoing efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in Hanover, we have been working closely with the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) to implement a free COVID-19 pooled testing program for students and staff at our school.

Pooled testing is an important tool that we can use to reduce the impact of COVID-19 in our community and to help keep our schools open.  We are working to identify students and staff who are COVID-19 positive to protect our entire community and to keep schools open.  In order for us to accomplish this important goal, we need your assistance.  We fully understand that you may be hesitant to participate in this program because it may result in a quarantine.  To end quarantines, we need to end COVID-19.  Addressing this issue head-on is the best way to get to the end of this pandemic.  If your child or close contact is infected with COVID-19, we want to help protect your family and everyone in our schools.  If your child isn’t participating in the testing program, and they are determined to be a close contact of a classmate or staff member, the quarantine requirements remain the same.

We are requesting your permission to regularly test your child as part of a pooled testing program in our schools.  Pooled testing involves mixing several individuals’ test samples together into one “pool” and then testing the pooled sample for COVID-19.  This approach increases the number of individuals that can be tested at one time and allows us to regularly test our school community for the presence of COVID-19.

The pooled tests will be performed once per week with a shallow nasal swab for all participating students and staff members.  Schools will receive the pool test results within 24 hours.  If the result of the pool is negative, then all individuals are presumed to not have COVID-19.  If the result of the pool is positive, then all individuals in the pool must be retested individually.  Because pooled testing does not give individual results, you will only be notified if your child requires follow-up testing.  If your child’s pool is positive, they will be asked to report to the Hanover Council on Aging for a follow-up individual COVID-19 test through the Hanover Mobile Integrated Health (MIH) program right away. 

Our staff has been thoroughly trained on how to administer pooled testing.  Your school nurse will call you if your child is part of a positive pool and requires follow-up testing.  She will also notify you of the individual follow-up test results; usually within 24 hours.

We are scheduling pooled testing on Tuesdays and Fridays so that anyone identified as being part of a positive test pool can be re-tested ASAP through the MIH program without missing in-person instruction.  Once a student/staff member receives a negative COVID-19 follow-up test, they may resume normal activities immediately.  We will do everything possible to provide prompt testing and communication to avoid unnecessary quarantines and interruptions to daily routines.

Important information

• This is for asymptomatic screening only.  If you are experiencing symptoms, even if mild, please contact your school nurse for individual testing.
• Anyone who has tested positive within the past 90 days will be automatically excluded from the pool.
• The test will be performed by a nurse or a Town of Hanover paramedic.  Older children may self swab under supervision.
• Testing will take place in/just outside of the classroom or at a centralized location and will take up only a few minutes of class time once/week.
• Other districts are finding very small numbers of positive pools (or none at all) when all pool members are asymptomatic.
• No one will be excluded from school if they choose not to participate.
• The nasal swab test is a shallow test and is pretty comfortable and very quick.
• We are exploring the possibility of utilizing the DESE-approved Abbott ID Now rapid antigen test to conduct follow-up testing for positive pools in the future, but we plan to utilize our existing PCR testing infrastructure to start, as this is considered the gold standard test.
• Please see the linked Press Release from the Governor’s Office which describes the program.

It is our hope that ALL Hanover Public Schools Families and Staff will consent to participate in this important program.

We are extremely grateful to our committed staff and families that continue to show great flexibility and resilience as we navigate through this school year.  It takes all of us working together to contain the spread of this virus.  We are excited to add pooled testing as another mitigation strategy for our school community as we continue to work together to keep our schools open and to reduce the spread of COVID-19.  We will carefully monitor the program and will make an informed decision about continuation following the six week trial period.

Please strongly consider providing your consent to this important program

To consent for pooled testing, please log onto Aspen and select “Initiate” under the “COVID-19 Pooled Testing Consent” section to begin the consent process.  Please read the consent carefully and choose your consent option for each of your children. 

Questions

If you have questions regarding the COVID-19 Pooled Testing Program please reach out to me or any one of the school nurses.  There will be a webinar Monday, February 8, 2021, at 5:30 PM, to provide additional information about pooled testing and to answer any questions you may have about pooled testing and general COVID-19 safety measures.  The meeting can be accessed at https://hanover-ma-gov.zoom.us/j/81124413486.  We will send out a reminder message on Monday.  This webinar will be recorded for future viewing.  Thank you for your thoughtful attention to this message and for all of your ongoing support.

Sincerely,

Patricia Smith, BSN RN NCSN
Director of Health Services

Matt Ferron
Superintendent