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MONTPELIER – With many schools facing in-person class disruptions due to COVID-19 cases, the state has announced a new approach to testing designed to keep more children in school.
The governor’s office said the state began distributing resources and information to all public and independent schools in Vermont on Friday to “enable them to establish COVID-19 response tests at every school in Vermont.” The program provides schools with free polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and rapid antigen testing that should allow schools to significantly reduce the time students might otherwise spend outside of the classroom when cases are identified.
“I am optimistic that additional testing will increase the opportunities for students to be in person and reduce the wait time for test results for families,” said Mary Ross, principal of Vernon Elementary School. “The record of school nurses is immense and I hope that systems emerge that better support the work that school nurses do statewide in supporting this process.”
Students who are considered “close contacts” of a classmate or teacher who test positive for the virus will be able to test more easily outside of quarantine and continue to attend class during quarantine as long as they have no symptoms, the governor’s office said.
“We all know how important it is to keep children in school – it is a public health imperative,” Gov. Phil Scott said in a statement. “But what we’ve seen so far is that many students have had to quarantine themselves after possible exposure and never become a case. It is precious classroom time that is wasted for the student and difficult for parents and schools to manage. By adding these additional tools to the toolkit, we can minimize disruption, identify cases faster, and most importantly, keep our children in school, so they can get education and opportunities for social interaction. that they deserve.
Unvaccinated students who are close contacts of a positive COVID-19 case will have a daily antigen test at the start of the school day rather than staying at home. When students are negative and have no symptoms, they can go to class and participate in extracurricular activities.
The program would be modeled after those who were successful in Massachusetts and Utah, and supported by the Vermont pediatric community and infectious disease experts at the University of Vermont.
PCR tests will be administered in schools. Testing will cover unvaccinated close contacts out of quarantine, close contacts vaccinated three to five days after exposure, and symptomatic students who test negative for antigen.
Home PCR test kits will also be distributed to students, staff and family members who need to be tested.
“These kits are for home quarantined students, family members of COVID-19 positive students, or anyone in the learning community who needs a test,” the governor’s office said.
Schools are expected to share information with families about the new program soon. More than 520 cases of COVID-19 have been reported in Vermont schools since the start of the school year, according to state data.
“Response tests are an essential tool for Vermont schools that strive to keep students in learning, and a key part of our efforts to support hard-working Vermont school staff and educators,” said Education Secretary Dan French said in a statement. “Right now, the most important thing we can do for the long-term success of students is to keep them in the classroom as much as possible. Along with the current surveillance testing program, these new tools will help ensure that students are attending, learning, and engaged in the other essential activities that Vermont education provides. “
‘Damn a year’
At the Southeast Windham School District School Board meeting on Tuesday, Acting Superintendent Mark Speno said COVID continues to be a problem in schools in terms of unpredictability. All public schools in Brattleboro, Guilford, Putney and Vernon had reported cases at the time.
“This led to the contact tracing via nurses and managers, a lot of communication,” Speno said. “This has led to the development of distance learning platforms that all schools have done to prepare for the anticipation for when you have to go remote for seven to 14 days. So that’s a lot. I am happy to say that we are working on it. “
Several elementary school classes had to be closed this school year, but have since reopened, Speno said. He noted that in classes where students are older and eligible for vaccination, a smaller number of students had to be quarantined.
“It’s been a hell of a year, but we’re a month behind and we’re moving forward,” he said. “I would like to recognize the work of our nurses and principals. Basically since the start of the school year, they have been on call this year, and every weekend of the school year we have had a school or several schools doing contact tracing. ”
Speno said that in response to the unsustainability of having nurses and school principals pursuing constant contact tracing, he was looking to hire additional nurses and support staff.
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