Superintendent McDonald shares survey results, gives update on testing

UPDATE: We wanted to share an update with our families regarding testing at Durgee Junior High School and C.W. Baker High School. We heard from Onondaga County officials this evening and with help from our nursing staff, the county will be able to conduct COVID-19 testing at both of these schools next week. We’ll send a formal update to our families tomorrow.
 
Dear parents and guardians,
 
I’m writing today to give you an update on the District’s yellow micro-cluster zone designation. We are working closely with Onondaga County to navigate the testing protocols required in order to remain open to in-person learning while our school buildings are in the yellow zone.
 
I would like to thank parents and guardians for taking part in our testing survey. Out of the families that responded to the survey who have students attending school in-person, 74 percent indicated that they will give consent for their child to be tested in school for COVID-19.
 
After reviewing the survey results and information received from Onondaga County officials, we have decided to move forward with testing in our schools. The District has been informed that priority will be given to schools with elementary-aged students. This is due to the number of test kits available and the number of county medical personnel available to administer the test. For us, this means testing will begin at Elden Elementary School and Palmer Elementary School next week.
 
Due to this, the county has stated that testing will not be available for Durgee Junior High School or C.W. Baker High School at this time. In-person learning will continue at those two buildings until further notice. However, without being able to meet the testing requirements next week it is possible that both schools will need to move to remote learning beginning Monday, November 23. Please know we are working with Onondaga County and our school nurses to determine the feasibility of assisting the county so that our secondary schools can test students to remain open.  Although no decision has been made, we want families to prepare for the possibility of temporarily switching to remote learning if we are unsuccessful with testing our secondary students.
 
Registration links and schedules for testing at Elden Elementary and Palmer Elementary will be released as soon as they become available. In the meantime, we’ve put together a list of frequently asked questions, which will be updated as more information becomes available. The FAQ document can be found on our District website.
 
We appreciate your support and understanding on this matter. If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out.
 
Sincerely,

Matthew J. McDonald, Superintendent of Schools