October 4, 2021
Dear Families,
The Pennsylvania Department of Health has made COVID-19 testing available to all school districts in the Commonwealth at no cost. These tests are available to staff, students, bus drivers, and any other adult in our school system.
There are two main types of testing systems made available to all school districts:
- Pool Testing - asymptomatic testing for large groups of students.
- Individual Testing - diagnostic testing for those individuals (staff/students) who voluntarily request to be tested. These tests are rapid antigen tests that take about 15 minutes to complete from start to finish. The main intent of this initiative is to test symptomatic individuals.
Indiana Area School District has opted to make the individual testing option available to our staff and students starting in November. These tests are shallow swabs and can be completed in a rapid fashion. The tests are free to the district and can be used to help mitigate the spread of the virus, keep staff and students safe, and hopefully, result in a lower number of quarantines. This process is completely voluntary. The store-bought testing options are in high demand and, as such, might be hard for our families to obtain. Families can also contact Indiana Regional Medical Center (IRMC) to make arrangements for testing. Click here to view a flyer with additional information and directions.
Prior to any individual Rapid Antigen Test being administered, a parent or guardian consent form must be completed. Click here to view the parent consent form. No student will be tested without a parent/guardian’s written consent. While your child(ren) is/are quarantined and you would like to have them tested in hopes of returning to school before the 10 day period, please contact your child(ren)’s school health office to make the necessary arrangements.
The tests will be administered by our school health officials. Click here to review the privacy information related to the testing process. As with any positive case, results will be reported to the Department of Health and will be subject to their protocols for contact tracing, isolation, and/or quarantines.
Respectfully,
Mr. Michael J. Vuckovich
IASD Superintendent