As we move into the month of October, I would like to thank you for your continued support. As you know, keeping our students safe and in school is our top priority. We have learned a great deal over the past month and our current guidance and procedures reflect the most updated recommendations from the CDC and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.
So we may continue our goal of providing in-person learning for our students, St. Joseph School has been approved to offer an extra layer of protection to prevent the spread of COVID-19 : an in-school COVID-19 testing program. The program will have two components: Symptomatic Testing for students who show symptoms of COVID-19 at school and 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 OR saliva sample that is collected under the supervision of our school nurse. 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. It is important to St. Joseph School that you are fully informed regarding the process and that we can answer any questions that you might have in advance of asking you to sign the consent form. Below I describe each part 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.
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. The Test and Stay component of our program will hopefully eliminate the need to send an entire class home.
If a student tests positive for COVID-19, they must isolate 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.
Participating in our COVID-19 testing program is optional. However, in order for your child to participate, you must sign a consent form on behalf of your student. There is no charge for participating. We are currently finalizing the consent process and will distribute the appropriate links to you in a separate email/document.
It is our hope that these measures will work together to keep our school safe and your student in school. Thanks again for your support during this challenging time.