Some local districts are putting plans together for distribution of COVID test kits to district families, while others began giving them out last week.
Districts which responded this week to questions sent out by The Daily News or posted letters to parents and guardians, outlining their plans.
Pembroke Central School District Superintendent Matthew Calderon said the district received more than 900 kits. He said the state Department of Health (DOH) recommended using the kits in one of three ways: to implement the state’s Test-to-Stay program once the district is authorized by the county Health Department to do so; to test students on the first day back from the winter break; or to use them as part of its weekly testing of employees.
“Here in Pembroke, we will use the tests to implement Test-to-Stay starting within the next week or two, and for the weekly testing of employees,” Calderon said. He explained that the DOH recently provided new guidance that will permit schools to implement a Test-to-Stay (TTS) program to minimize students missing school. “Part of that guidance requires local health departments to first make sure that all school districts in given counties have the capacity to do it,” he said. “Once a local DOH authorizes TTS, each school district will develop its own plan.”
Calderon said if schools chose to test everyone upon returning from winter break, then they sent the tests home.
“Schools did not need permission from the DOH for that option. Pembroke did not choose that option, so we are not distributing the tests to everyone. We will be using the tests for Test-to-Stay, so we will give them to families as needed. We need to finalize our Test-to-Stay plan and have DOH approve it,” he said.
TTS will be optional in Pembroke, the superintendent said. Under DOH guidance, Calderon said, the state requires students to be quarantined for 10 days when they are considered a close contact of someone who tests positive for COVID.
“Parents will be able to choose to have their children participate or to fulfill the 10-day quarantine,” he said. “Some districts will choose to send the tests home and some will choose to do the testing at school. Students who participate and get negative test results will be permitted to attend school. Many aspects still need to be worked out and we will be collaborating with the local DOH to develop our plan, so it is too early to explain the finer details of how it will all work.”
Calderon said the kits Pembroke received are plenty to start with once everything is in order.
“Our local DOH will continue to provide more tests as needed and as available. In regard to the weekly testing, school districts are required to test all groups of employees and employees who are vaccinated are permitted to opt out by providing proof of vaccination. We have been doing that since early November, with tests provided to us by the local DOH.”
Le Roy Central School District Superintendent Merritt Holly told parents and guardians in a letter Thursday that school districts and the Genesee County Health Department (GCDOH) have continued to meet to discuss recent state Department of Health guidance.
“The guidance is changing rapidly and causing confusion about what is directed to the general public and what is applicable to just schools,” Holly wrote. “It is our understanding that school-specific guidance in reducing the isolation and quarantine periods is coming out soon. Our hope is that the school guidance for students will mirror the guidance released to the general public to avoid any confusion.”
In the meantime, Holly said, Le Roy is finalizing two options for testing students and maintaining another testing mandate. It will use rapid tests received from the state to continue weekly mandated testing/screening of unvaccinated teachers and staff or do diagnostic testing on students and staff upon request.
“This would include offering a by-appointment, drive-thru daily rapid test location at the Jr/Sr (High School) for any of our students in UPK-12th grades that are symptomatic and are unable to get tested through their HCP or Urgent Care,” he saidof the diagnostic testing.
The district will also offer Test to Stay to allow asymptomatic, unvaccinated students who are deemed to be a close contact with a positive at school to test negative each morning and attend school.
Both Test to Stay and drive-thru testing are voluntary, need parental consent, and attempt to reduce quarantine times and testing accessibility issues to hopefully keep students safely in school, Holly said.
Oakfield-Alabama Central School District Superintendent John Fisgus said the district distributed test kits Wednesday morning and Tuesday evening at the Middle-High School. O-A distributed 170 Tuesday and 132 Wednesday morning.
“We received a testing kit for each student in our district. Each kit contains two tests. I believe we will have enough and any surplus of kits will be kept by the district for future testing,” he said. “Keep in mind, these testing kits are not required. We are just providing the opportunity for our families to pick them up and have them, if interested,”
Fisgus said Oakfield-Alabama is seeing daily cases of COVID in the district, whether that is the Delta or omicron variant.
“Due to the guidelines, we have systems in place that limit the amount of ‘close contacts’ in our district, therefore, only the positive cases are being sent home and isolated. Only immediate siblings in the same household — or in same special cases, others — are being quarantined,” he said.
At Elba Central School District, Superintendent Gretchen Rosales said the district started test kit distribution to families on Wednesday.
“We received 402 test-kits and are using some for distribution to families, other kits for implementing the “Test to Stay” program later this month, and some for in-school testing,” Rosales said. “Parents and guardians were able to pick up the tests through our district office in the afternoon hours on Wednesday. We will continue to distribute them this way for as long as our supply allows.”
The Elba community has responded positively to Elba’s efforts, she said.
“It is the district’s goal to ensure the safety and well-being of all our families while placing a priority on in-person learning,” the superintendent said.
The Pavilion Central School District got about 650 test kits, Superintendent Mary Kate Hoffman said Thursday. The kits were available Thursday for parents to pick up at the high school and will be available again from 3:30-5:30 p.m. Monday.
“We will use any kits that are not picked up by parents to support our test to stay program and as part of our ongoing, in-school testing of our students and staff,” Hoffman said, noting the in-school testing is not mandatory and is done only with parent permission. “Any parent that has called this week to inquire about the kits has been able to come pick them up early.”
Parents who can’t pick up kits Monday may arrange with the school nurse for pickup. Pavilion is following state guidance received Dec. 29.
Holley Central School District Superintendent Brian Bartalo said the district received 990 test kits. It began distributing them to students’ families Monday after school and into that evening, using a drive-thru pickup system.
“We have made test kits available to students’ families this week by them either stopping in to their child’s school to pick up from the office or by giving us permission to send home with their child. If by the end of the day (Friday), we still have enough test kits remaining, we plan to allow staff to voluntarily take one home for their own use.” Following that, the superintendent said, Holley will be keep remaining test kits for internal surveillance testing or future use for “Test-to-Stay” protocols, once established.
Bartalo said he hasn’t received any concerns from anyone that kits aren’t being distributed quickly enough.
“I had one question about timing and responded that we got the kids out as soon as we received them, which was Monday,” he said.
Attica Central School District Interim Superintendent Timothy Hayes said Thursday that Wyoming County superintendents met with the county Health Department to formulate a plan for the distribution and utilization of the testing kits.
“We received 1,170 test kits from the New York State Education Department this week. We will be utilizing these in the district for surveillance and diagnostic testing of students and staff. We will make kits available to families on an as-needed basis once the countywide plans are finalized and communicated. That will be sometime next week,” Hayes said. “We will utilize all of our communication tools to get information to our families so that everyone is fully aware of our plans.
Hayes Tuesday said there were 11 positive COVID cases in the district.
“We do not know the strain of virus in our positive cases,” he said.
