Dear F-M families and staff,
On Monday, Jan. 3, each Fayetteville-Manlius School District school distributed most of its 3,908 state-supplied COVID-19 at-home test kits to students who were present.
All students who were present at the time of the afternoon distribution received a test kit to take home. If your student was absent, and you would like an at-home test for your student, please contact their school.
These state-supplied kits, which Onondaga County distributed to its local school districts, are part of a statewide goal for families to have the opportunity to test their students at home for COVID-19. There is no requirement that families use these tests for their children to attend school, but the Governor is encouraging the testing of students in order to keep students and school communities as safe as possible.
While all students who were present Monday were given a test kit, the district did not receive enough kits to distribute to staff or all students who were absent Monday. We have requested more kits to ensure that any family whose student was absent Monday and therefore did not receive a kit may pick one up if they so choose.
We understand the importance of being able to access testing, whether at home or in the community. If the district receives more at-home test kits from the county, we will distribute them first to any families who want a kit for their student but did not yet receive one and then to staff who would like one, based on a first-come, first-served basis. If that becomes an option for staff, we will let you know.
Please note that the school district is not tracking or reporting results. Our role, per the state, was simply to distribute the tests. Families who utilize the kits and have a child with a positive test result should report the positive case to the Onondaga County Health Department and follow all isolation and quarantine requirements.
Parents and guardians should use the following link to submit at-home test results: https://covid19.ongov.net/at-home-covid-test-results-screen/
We are seeing, and had expected after holiday gatherings, a surge in the number of reported positive cases across the country, state and within our local and school communities. We are continuing to monitor the number of positive cases here at F-M and encourage our students and staff to properly wear masks while indoors, maintain social distancing, participate in surveillance testing and, most importantly, stay home when not feeling well. Our priority is to maintain in-person learning as long as we can continue to safely do so and staffing allows.
As new information becomes available, we will provide updates to you directly through our SchoolMessenger alert system as well as posting information on our website: www.fmschools.org. I wish you good health as we navigate this latest surge.
Sincerely,
Craig J. Tice, Ph.D.
Superintendent of Schools