Thank you for your continued support as we work to keep our community safe this fall. As the COVID Task Force noted in the email on September 1, Crossroads will be participating in the Safer at Schools Screening (SASS) program, along with 183 other organizations across the state. Below you will find information explaining how to enroll your child for weekly COVID testing through the SASS program.
The goal of the SASS program is to ensure the continuity of in-person learning by identifying asymptomatic individuals in order to reduce the risk of in-school transmission. Routine testing of students and staff—regardless of vaccination status—has been shown to reduce the number of COVID cases in schools. Asymptomatic school screening is a valuable layer of prevention recommended by both the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control. This program is voluntary and free of charge for students and for employees, but participation is strongly encouraged in the spirit of keeping our collective community safe and learning in person.
Crossroads has chosen the University of New Hampshire (UNH) as our testing partner—serendipitously, the Director of the UNH lab is the parent of two Crossroads Academy alumni! More information about the UNH lab can be found here. Our neighbors in Vermont have similar programs, and many schools in our region have enrolled.
The testing will be performed by class in an outdoor location on campus once weekly. Students will perform their own anterior nasal self-swabs under the (physically distanced) supervision of a school nurse or other trained staff member. Unlike the early upper nasal COVID-19 tests, these lower nasal swabs are easy and painless for students to perform themselves. These swabs will be sent to the UNH lab for PCR testing once weekly, and parents will be able to access their child’s weekly testing results via a secure online portal.
Through weekly testing, our school will be better equipped to:
- Prevent the spread of the virus, especially among those individuals who are asymptomatic.
- Make evidence-based decisions in regards to relaxing other prevention measures when appropriate.
- Rapidly respond to changing conditions if necessary.
Students may only participate in the program with permission from a parent or guardian. To participate in the program, you must sign this consent form on behalf of your child. There is no charge for participating. All students are eligible to participate.
Thank you again for your continued support and patience as we work to keep our community safe and keep students learning in person!
Dan Morrissey
Head of School
