Dear Parent(s) and Guardian(s):
Next week the District will begin offering routine COVID safety checks (pooled screening) for all students. If you would like your child to participate in the weekly pooled screening program and have NOT YET completed the consent form, please take a minute to complete the consent form linked below.
Routine COVID safety checks will assist the District by helping catch the potential spread of the virus before it starts. Each student administers the safety check on a weekly basis. Samples are collected at home and dropped off at school. The samples are grouped together in the lab. Once the samples get to the lab, all the samples in the group are tested for COVID-19 together. In almost all cases, it will take less than 24 hours to receive safety check results. Students can continue to come to school while awaiting safety check results; they do not need to quarantine. With the program we are using we will know the positive individual(s) in a pool from the original sample.
ARHS: Routine Safety Checks will take place each Wednesday
Southborough: Routine Safety Checks will take place each Wednesday
Northborough: Routine Safety Checks will take place each Thursday
Students can only participate with permission from a parent or guardian. It is important to The Public Schools of Northborough and Southborough that you are fully informed regarding the process and that your questions are answered, in advance of asking you to sign the consent form. Please click here to learn more about the three parts of the testing program, how they are conducted, and what they are used for. The instructions for participating in the COVID Safety Checks are available here.
ELLSWORTH MCAFEE PARK
262 South Street
Northborough, MA
Monday-Friday
6:30 AM-8:30 AM
This drive-thru site will be open daily from 6:30 AM - 8:30 AM.
The District’s goal is to have a second centralized location in Southborough in the next couple of weeks and it is working closely with the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) to staff both centralized testing locations.
I am also pleased to announce the District has officially started the equity audit process partnering with Mass Insight Education & Research. Throughout this process, Mass Insight will gather and analyze data and evidence around the ways in which students, families, community members, and staff experience the District’s core values and learning opportunities for ALL students.
Throughout this process, everyone’s participation is critical to understanding the ways the District can continue to create more equitable, inclusive, and accessible learning and work environments for each member of our community.
Next Friday, October 8, 2021, the District will launch a parent/guardian equity survey. The survey will take approximately 15 minutes to complete. This survey is anonymous and will be used to surface trends for the purposes of the equity audit. All identifying information will be removed from written responses.
Respectfully,
Gregory L. Martineau
Superintendent of Schools
