Happy Sunday PK parents - may the odds be ever in your favor

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can you share the email from DCPS?

January 24, 2022

Dear DCPS Pre-K Families,

Thank you to all our families for implementing the second week of our required weekly testing program. As of noon today, 3,897 Pre-K students submitted their results, and 18 positive cases were reported.

As part of our weekly testing program, we are implementing a test-to-stay pilot program for Pre-K students. Test to Stay for Pre-K classrooms will go into effect should a student test positive through the required weekly testing each Sunday. This means that all students in the classroom who tested negative can attend school, and the following steps will take place to start the school week:


On Mondays, all children in a classroom impacted by a positive reported case from weekly Pre-K testing will receive a verbal and visual health screening by a trained health professional to check for any symptoms of COVID-19.

On Tuesdays, a rapid antigen test — like the one in the weekly at-home kit — will be administered by a trained health professional to all students in the classroom. If a student tests positive in that rapid test, the student will be moved to the health isolation room and parents will be contacted to pick the student up from school.

If additional testing or action for the classroom is warranted based on the Tuesday rapid test results for the students, information will be communicated to families at that time.

Please note:

If you choose to opt your child out of rapid antigen tests administered on-site at school, your child must quarantine for 10 days and cannot attend school during this time.

Families in impacted classrooms can also request two at-home PCR tests mailed to your residential address. Use this link to request those tests.

At this time, the Test to Stay for Pre-K pilot program applies only to impacted classrooms where a student tested positive through the required weekly testing requirement. This means that if a Pre-K student tested positive for COVID-19 outside of the weekly testing requirement, then the test-to-stay option for close contacts in that classroom is not yet available.

We ask that all families to continue to monitor your student for any symptoms of COVID-19 every day. If they are showing any symptoms, please keep them home from school. Finally, getting yourself and child vaccinated if eligible is the best way to protect your family against COVID-19. I urge you to visit vaccinate.dc.gov for free vaccine clinics across the city, including walk-up sites at schools. In addition, please visit coronavirus.dc.gov/covidcenters to learn more the District’s COVID Centers, where residents can access free vaccinations, boosters, rapid antigen tests, and PCR tests.

Sincerely,

Lewis D. Ferebee, Ed.D.
Chancellor

Oops sorry I missed some in the first post

This is truly an important step but do not overlook the bolded portion. For some reason that DCPS leaves unexplained, all PreK students in a class will have to quarantine the full period of quarantine whenever a positive case outside of the mandatory weekly testing.

[Anonymous]

It's because implementing test to stay is difficult and they are just trying it out.

[Anonymous]

For anyone who's interested in joining a community of parents advocating for updated COVID-19 policies in preschools, here's a FB group that was just created:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/614497649624490/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There was a positive in my kid’s pk3 class and everyone had to quarantine. But kids that were absent that Friday did not.

That’s incentivizes me to consider keeping my kid home on Fridays…

This is honestly a solution. Do virtual/cancel Fridays and only keep the positive kids home the next week. Everyone else avoids the quarantine.

It is a solution, yes. But, a "solution" which provides 80% of childcare/instruction time (because if school is ever childcare, it is at the PK level!). There are some countries where the exposure window only goes back one day. Not sure what the evidence shows, but I would guess 2 days is closer to accurate.

What if they requested people to test after 4 pm, which means the 48 hour window would be Friday evening? Wouldn't that avoid needing the test-to-stay, while also weeding out kids from showing up positive? The test-to-stay plan is also good, but this seems logistically easier and within health guidelines.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can you share the email from DCPS?

January 24, 2022

Dear DCPS Pre-K Families,

Thank you to all our families for implementing the second week of our required weekly testing program. As of noon today, 3,897 Pre-K students submitted their results, and 18 positive cases were reported.

As part of our weekly testing program, we are implementing a test-to-stay pilot program for Pre-K students. Test to Stay for Pre-K classrooms will go into effect should a student test positive through the required weekly testing each Sunday. This means that all students in the classroom who tested negative can attend school, and the following steps will take place to start the school week:


On Mondays, all children in a classroom impacted by a positive reported case from weekly Pre-K testing will receive a verbal and visual health screening by a trained health professional to check for any symptoms of COVID-19.

On Tuesdays, a rapid antigen test — like the one in the weekly at-home kit — will be administered by a trained health professional to all students in the classroom. If a student tests positive in that rapid test, the student will be moved to the health isolation room and parents will be contacted to pick the student up from school.

If additional testing or action for the classroom is warranted based on the Tuesday rapid test results for the students, information will be communicated to families at that time.

Please note:

If you choose to opt your child out of rapid antigen tests administered on-site at school, your child must quarantine for 10 days and cannot attend school during this time.

Families in impacted classrooms can also request two at-home PCR tests mailed to your residential address. Use this link to request those tests.

At this time, the Test to Stay for Pre-K pilot program applies only to impacted classrooms where a student tested positive through the required weekly testing requirement. This means that if a Pre-K student tested positive for COVID-19 outside of the weekly testing requirement, then the test-to-stay option for close contacts in that classroom is not yet available.

We ask that all families to continue to monitor your student for any symptoms of COVID-19 every day. If they are showing any symptoms, please keep them home from school. Finally, getting yourself and child vaccinated if eligible is the best way to protect your family against COVID-19. I urge you to visit vaccinate.dc.gov for free vaccine clinics across the city, including walk-up sites at schools. In addition, please visit coronavirus.dc.gov/covidcenters to learn more the District’s COVID Centers, where residents can access free vaccinations, boosters, rapid antigen tests, and PCR tests.

Sincerely,

Lewis D. Ferebee, Ed.D.
Chancellor

Oops sorry I missed some in the first post

This is truly an important step but do not overlook the bolded portion. For some reason that DCPS leaves unexplained, all PreK students in a class will have to quarantine the full period of quarantine whenever a positive case outside of the mandatory weekly testing.

Maybe they just can't guarantee they will have the infrastructure in place to get the tests to kids etc for this and need to see how common it is?