Saratoga County Pilots “Test To Stay” Program Giving Kids More Time In Class

BALLSTON SPA — Saratoga County officials announced last week a first-in-the-state pilot program to allow more students to remain in the classroom amid soaring COVID-19 quarantine orders for school-age children. 

The program “Test to Stay” – or TTS, is a test-based protocol for k-12 students exposed to COVID-19 in school or on a school bus that allows them attend classes in person rather than quarantine at home as long as they test negative for the virus and show no symptoms each day. 

The “Test to Stay” protocol is currently a pilot program administered by Saratoga County Public Health Services (SCPHS) in the South Glens Falls Central School District (SGFSD).  SCPHS and SGFSD are also partnering with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to evaluate the pilot. 

At the time of the pilot program announcement, 94 members of the South Glens Falls School District – 89 students, 3 teachers and 2 staff, had tested positive since Sept. 13. There are 3,390 students, teachers and staff in the school district. 

Comparably in the region, since the start of the school year in September, there were 84 who tested positive at Saratoga Springs City School District (67 students, 10 teachers, 7 staff); 74 at Ballston Spa CSD (62 students, 2 teachers, 10 staff); 13 (12 students, 1 staff) at Schuylerville CSD; 27 (18 students, 1 teacher, 8 staff) at Galway CSD. Data regarding COVID tests and results for individual Private, Public, Charter and BOCES Program schools may be searched at: schoolcovidreportcard.health.ny.gov/#/home. 

During the TTS pilot protocol, normal contact tracing will take place with the school district contacting families of students who are considered a close contact of a COVID positive individual. The TTS protocol allows parents or guardians the option to have their child tested daily in school as an alternative to having to quarantine. Students would arrive at school and report directly to the nurse’s office for testing. A negative test will keep students in school. If a student tests positive, the parent and/or guardian will be required to pick up their child and quarantine their student. 

“When responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important to consider the social, emotional, and educational consequences that have impacted children and families,” said Dr. Daniel Kuhles, Commissioner of Saratoga County Public Health Services, in a statement. “The Test to Stay pilot, in combination with the layered prevention strategies already present in schools, is an important step towards supporting their overall health and wellbeing.” 

The pilot phase of the TTS protocol is scheduled to last several weeks. Upon conclusion, the evaluation team will review the effectiveness, feasibility, and scalability of the protocol. This information will be used to make recommendations as to whether the pilot should be amended, expanded to other school districts and private schools, or be withdrawn.