HADLEY – Superintendent Anne McKenzie apprised the School Committee on Hadley Public Schools’ approach to masking, COVID-19 testing, positive test protocols and reporting at the committee’s Aug. 30 meeting.

Current Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and Department of Public Health (DPH) regulations stipulate that all K-12 students, staff and visitors in public schools must be masked, barring a limited number of circumstances such as medical reasons or behavioral needs. According to the order, which the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education empowered Education Commissioner Jeffrey Riley to implement, after Oct. 1, districts may have the opportunity to allow vaccinated individuals to be unmasked if at least 80 percent of the school population – staff and students – is fully vaccinated.

“This is not a Hadley School Committee rule; this is part of the mandate that came out on masking,” McKenzie said. She reported that as of the meeting, 92 students at Hopkins Academy – about 39 percent of the student population – were vaccinated.

McKenzie noted that state approval would be needed to drop the mask requirement for vaccinated students and staff – it is not automatic once the district reaches the 80 percent threshold and school officials can make the determination on whether or not to apply.

McKenzie also stressed during the meeting the importance of strong participation in the district’s surveillance pool testing in order to identify active cases of coronavirus and prevent spread in the schools.

“The one thing that would really help us is the more people that participate in pool testing, the easier it is for us to figure out if something here isn’t working. That’s how we pick it up,” she said.

Regarding the surveillance testing, McKenzie said local parents who are also registered nurses have been leading the program. “I have the envy of surrounding districts because there aren’t other places where registered nurse parents are leading surveillance testing,” she said. “Without these parents helping us … we wouldn’t be able to do this.”

Those interested in registering for pool testing may do so at https://testcenter.concentricbyginkgo.com/minor-consent.

While surveillance testing was supposed to start the first week of school, due to a vendor change on the state level to CIC Health, it would be delayed a week to allow for adequate training and transfer of paperwork, McKenzie noted.

A benefit of the new vendor, she noted, was if a pool testing sample were to yield a positive result, the lab would have the means to identify infected students and parents would be informed directly by CIC. Previously, if a pool was positive, students were required to receive a rapid antigen test administered by a nurse on the school campus that would have been tested separately.

“If the lab identifies a pool as positive, they have all of the original samples [and] they will test the individual samples in the lab,” she said. “Our goal is as we get better and more efficient, we hope we can schedule courier service early enough in the day that we might know that night."

She added, “In-lab reflex testing is a wonderful thing.”

Individuals who test positive for COVID-19 would be required to isolate for 10 days and would only be able to return to school after that isolation period provided they have not had a fever in at least 24 hours and have experienced an improvement in other symptoms. Those who do not meet these criteria could be able to return with clearance from a public health official or school health professional. Repeat testing is not required to return.

“There is no option to come to school like ‘I had a vaccination but I got a breakthrough,’” McKenzie said. “It’s I.I.A. – infected isolates always. If you’re positive, you’re home.”

Families and close contacts would receive an email regarding positive tests and more information can be found on the provided COVID-19 dashboard. She noted the district would not identify individuals; cases would be identified by building as she did during the prior school year.

“We can in a general way share with the school community,” she said. “There is nothing to prevent families from sharing this information. I would say this isn’t something people should feel any sort of stigma about.”

McKenzie noted being open with information can assist the district with proper contact tracing as individuals may not be able to recall every situation or person that could be considered a close contact. Close contact is defined as being within 6 feet for more than 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period.

Communication with close contacts would begin with those who would have to quarantine or participate in the Test and Stay program. Test and Stay is designed to allow asymptomatic close contacts to remain in school if they receive negative results from a rapid antigen test daily for seven days. Families should actively monitor for symptoms for 14 days.

“I do believe DPH has demonstrated very solid leadership in this regard and they did last year,” McKenzie said. “We were fortunate to have a fairly healthy year. We didn’t have any students or staff with a serious illness, hospitalization or death and we’re very grateful for that.”

When Test and Stay is not agreed upon an asymptomatic close contact must be quarantined for at least seven days after exposure. Quarantined individuals may return to school if they are asymptomatic, receive a negative PCR or rapid antigen test on day five or later and self-monitor for symptoms for 14 days.

Some close contacts who may be exempted from these protocols would also be contacted so they could monitor for symptoms. According to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, exempted individuals include those who are asymptomatic and fully vaccinated, those who were exposed in the classroom while both were masked and at least three feet apart, those who were exposed on a bus when masked with the windows open, and those who have had COVID-19 within the past 90 days.

If someone is symptomatic and not a close contact, they would have to receive a negative test or an alternative diagnosis from a medical professional, no fever without use of fever-reducing medications and improvement of symptoms. Symptomatic close contacts would have to wait until symptoms resolved and receive a negative PCR test before advancing to the Test and Stay protocols.

Symptomatic individuals who are not close contacts and refuse to test would have to isolate for at least 10 days from the onset of symptoms and could return on day 11 provided symptoms have improved and they have been fever free without the assistance of medication for 24 hours.

McKenzie also indicated that starting in mid-September, she would begin reporting information of positive cases, surveillance pool testing information as well as vaccination data for staff and students dashboard publicly on the dashboard. Hadley families can view the weekly COVID-19 dashboard via a link included in the newsletter. McKenzie suggested for ease of access bookmarking the address in an internet browser.

McKenzie also reported the second of two vaccination clinics at Hopkins Academy is set to take place in coordination with Transformative Health Solutions on Sept. 17 from 10 to 2 p.m. with both Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson vaccines available. The first clinic took place on Aug. 27. McKenzie said because it is the second clinic, those interested in getting a first dose of the two-dose Pfizer vaccine should contact her directly. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine only requires one shot.