Canton Public Schools: Update Regarding COVID-19 Testing Program And Routine COVID-19 Safety Checks

Press release from Canton Public Schools:

Leah Comins

September 30, 2021

Good Afternoon,

A letter went out to families and staff on September 10 with information regarding the COVID-19 Testing Program.  The letter, with a complete explanation of all three testing options, can be found here.

The Canton Nursing Team has been implementing COVID-19 Test and Stay and Symptomatic Testing with staff and students since September 1. We are excited to announce that COVID Safety Checks (aka pooled testing) will begin on Tuesday, October 5!  

COVID Safety Checks will be performed every Tuesday across the District for students and staff who have filled out consent forms.  These safety checks minimize disruption to learning by helping us catch potential spread of the virus before it starts.

If you haven’t signed up already it is not too late to do so.  To participate in the COVID Safety Check on October 5, please use the links below and sign up by October 1.

Consent Forms:

To participate in the testing program BOTH forms must be completed.

Reminder: 

Students and staff can continue to come to school while awaiting test results which come back in 24 hours.

• If a safety check test is positive, the students in the group will be retested by the nurse to determine which student(s) or staff members in the group produced the positive test.
• From there, COVID-19 protocols will be followed. Parents and guardians will only be notified if their child has tested positive.
• Being part of a positive pool does NOT mean your child will need to quarantine or miss school. 
• The positive student will need to be quarantined, but all others may participate in the Test and Stay Program if identified as a close contact. 

Please note: 

• No student or staff member will be tested without consent.
• This state-sponsored testing is in collaboration with CIC Health and there is no charge for participating.
• Even if you filled out a consent for the 2020-2021 Pooled Testing Program, NEW CONSENT FORMS MUST BE FILLED OUT for the 2021-2022 school year.

We strongly encourage families and staff to sign up for all three testing options to be included in the District-wide effort to keep COVID-19 out of our schools and our students and staff IN school.  We are in this together!

Sincerely,
Lauren Pushard, RN
District Nurse Leader

This press release was produced by Canton Public Schools. The views expressed here are the author’s own.