Schools around the world are struggling to keep children inside the classroom due to the ongoing pandemic.
“This is the third academic year that has been abnormal for our students,” Saratoga County Board of Supervisors Chairman Theodore Kusnierz said.
The county is working to mitigate the trend.
On Friday, Kusnierz, the Moreau town supervisor, announced a new program the county is launching called Test to Stay. He said it is designed to keep healthy children in school and learning.
What You Need To Know
- Saratoga County is launching a "Test to Stay" program to help keep students in classrooms
- The South Glens Falls Central School District is the first district in New York to host the program
- The test-based protocol includes normal contact tracing, but allows asymptomatic children exposed to the virus to be tested daily in school
It’s a new protocol that includes normal contact tracing, but it will allow parents the option to have asymptomatic children who are exposed to the virus to be tested daily in school.
“I am confident that the majority of our families will sign up for this,” South Glens Falls Central School District Superintendent Kristine Orr said.
The district is the first in the state to host the pilot program.
“My school administrators and nurses have a list of about 32 students that are eligible as of this minute,” Orr said.
School nurses will administer the tests.
“Takes five turns in each nostril, you place it in a card, you put some reagent on it, and within 15 minutes or so, you’ll have a result,” Saratoga County Public Health Services Commissioner Dr. Daniel Kuhles explained.
Students who test negative will be allowed to enter the building. A positive test will require parents to pick up their child for quarantine.
“Due to the continued mandatory quarantining on account of contact tracing, she has not had that normal school year since kindergarten,” said Jennifer Speenburg, a parent of a third-grader in Clifton Park with special needs.
She joined county leaders Friday and applauded their efforts.
“Every time Emily is kept home when she is perfectly healthy, the system is robbing her of continued momentum of growth,” Speenburg said.
The county will gather data from South Glens Falls schools in the coming weeks in hopes of expanding the program across the county.
“We can wait for the next mandate, or we can try to devise strategies to improve our situation in Saratoga County,” Clifton Park Supervisor Phil Barrett said.
