School officials approve new at-home testing option

With the unanimous support of the School Committee, the Canton Public Schools will soon shift to a new at-home COVID testing program that calls for a focus on symptomatic testing and puts rapid antigen tests in the hands of all staff and students.

The tests will be supplied by the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) — one per week for each participating student and staff member — as part of a new optional program announced last week for PreK-12 schools.

Interim School Superintendent Derek Folan presented the DESE plan to School Committee members at their January 20 meeting and they voted 5-0 to give Folan permission to apply for the at-home tests.

With the implementation of the new testing option, the Canton schools will discontinue its contact tracing and “Test and Stay” initiatives but will continue with regular pooled testing along with in-school symptomatic testing.

Folan said nursing teams can always use their professional discretion in a scenario that calls for contact tracing.

“The main priority of any testing approach is to ensure students stay in school and to keep COVID out of the school environment as best as possible,” said Folan. “Our mitigation and testing strategies have been highly effective, and we have continually adapted to the current conditions and the most recent medical advice. The new COVID testing option is an appropriate shift and evolution of the testing approach, according to state and local safety officials.”

The adoption of the new at-home testing program comes highly recommended by DPH and DESE and is also supported by the Canton Board of Health, the CPS nursing team, and Canton’s head school physician, Dr. Daniel Muse.

With the committee’s approval, Folan was expected to make a formal request for the tests on Friday and was hoping that they would be available beginning this week for staff and next week for students. All participants will need to opt-in in order to receive the tests.

According to state Education Commissioner Jeffrey Riley, positivity rates seen from Test and Stay programs indicate that individuals identified as close contacts in school are very unlikely to contract or spread COVID-19. For this reason, Riley said the extensive contact tracing and associated Test and Stay procedures are not adding significant value as a mitigation strategy despite the demands they place on school staff.

Folan and CPS Nurse Leader Lauren Pushard emphasized with the at-home tests, parents will be empowered to notify the school if their child tests positive.

In other COVID 19 news, Stephen Marshall, CPS director of finance and operations, reported that the district received …

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Posted by Mike Berger on Jan 28 2022. Filed under News, Schools. Both comments and pings are currently closed.