Dear Staff, Students, and Parents/Guardians,
I am writing to inform you that two individuals in our Brayton Elementary School community have tested positive for COVID-19 as a result of our pooled testing program. These individuals were tested through the pooled testing program and identified through the rapid results test. The pooled testing program helps us to identify and rapidly respond to asymptomatic individuals and limit the contagious spread of the virus.
These new cases impact Brayton Elementary School and require the students and staff in the full-day PreK classroom and the Kindergarten classes to move to remote learning for this week beginning on Friday, March 26, 2021 through Wednesday, March 31, 2021 for quarantine from the date for last known contact. Students and staff can return to the hybrid instructional model on Thursday, April 1, 2021.
The other elementary schools do not have any reported cases at this time and will remain in the hybrid model.
Remote students will be able to obtain a “grab and go” meal service at Brayton and Colegrove Park Elementary Schools on Tuesday and Friday from 11:00 to noon. There will NOT be a food service site for remote students at Greylock Apartments or Mohawk Forest for the remainder of this week.
Our first responsibility is to keep our students and staff safe. We have been planning for this scenario as part of our COVID-19 surveillance testing program and have a comprehensive plan in place to sanitize the facilities at the elementary school, inform staff and families whose students were at risk of exposure or in close contact, and support the affected individuals as they navigate this stressful experience.
Though we cannot provide specific information about the individuals who tested positive, North Adams Public Schools has implemented our protocols for notification, disinfection, and quarantine for staff and students who may have been exposed. Staff and students identified through contact tracing were notified by School Nurse Leader Lauren Gage regarding testing. Parents of students who were in close contact with the individual were notified privately. We are also following all Department of Health protocols, including collaborating with our local board of health to complete contact tracing. Additionally, we are asking those parents whose students are tested for COVID-19 at their health care provider’s office or at the Stop the Spread Center located at 97 Church Street, North Adams to please report the results to the school nurse.
The pooled testing program assists us in determining if there is potential of community transmission of COVID-19. If you would like your student to be tested please complete a consent form. To complete a Pooled Testing Consent Form, go to: https://www.napsk12.org/page/pooledcovid19testing. If you have any questions about the pooled testing program, please email the school nurse Lauren Gage at lgage@napsk12.org.
We will continue to be vigilant in adhering to all of the protocols that have been put in place in an effort to continue in person learning. We are also providing remote learning for all students required to quarantine at home to continue to provide instruction, structure, and an emotional connection to the classroom during a time that we know will be challenging.
For more information on COVID-19 symptoms and testing, visit: https://www.mass.gov/info-details/about-covid-19-testing#where-can-get-a-test?-.
Please contact us immediately should you or someone in your home begin to show symptoms. We are committed to continuous communication with and support of our families. If there is additional transmission as a result of this case or a separate case, we will send out another message immediately. Thank you for your continued support.
Sincerely,
Barbara Malkas, Ed.D.
Superintendent of North Adams Public Schools