From Superintendent Maria Pontes: 

Letter: Spanish Portuguese

Covid Consent Form Students:  English Spanish Portuguese

Dear Families,

Thank you for your continued support as we kick off the 2021-2022 school year. The Fall River Public Schools top priority is keeping your students safe and in school. We have learned a great deal over this past year and our current guidance and procedures reflect the most updated recommendations from the CDC and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.

For the 2021-22 school year, we are offering an extra layer of protection to prevent the spread of COVID-19, our COVID-19 testing program at school. The Fall River Public Schools will be offering symptomatic testing, for students and staff, who show symptoms of COVID-19 while in school. This test is a non-invasive nasal swab that is collected under the supervision of a school nurse.

Students can only participate with signed permission from a parent or guardian. It is important to the Fall River Public Schools that you are fully informed regarding this process and that we can answer any questions that you might have in advance of signing the attached consent form. When reading the consent form, the testing program that does not have a line through it, is the testing program we will be conducting in our schools.

Symptomatic testing is used when a student or staff is showing symptoms of COVID-19 during the school day. Some symptoms of the virus look identical to other illnesses like the cold or flu, and this test tells us whether a symptomatic student has COVID-19 or not. This is a rapid test and we receive the results of this test within 15 minutes.

If a symptomatic student or adult test negative on this rapid test, they must follow-up with a PCR to confirm that they are indeed negative. If a student or adult tests positive for COVID-19, they must isolate at home for the CDC-recommended ten days since symptoms appeared or ten days after the positive test before returning to school. They must also be without a fever for 24 hours without fever reducing medication.

Although individuals who are vaccinated are much less likely to spread or contract the virus, it is important for us to create an inclusive environment for both vaccinated and unvaccinated persons.

To participate in the program, you must complete and sign the attached consent form on behalf of your child. There is no charge for participating. If you have additional questions regarding the program, please contact your child’s school nurse.

Covid Consent Form Students:  English Spanish Portuguese

Covid Consent Form Staff: English

Folder: All Downloads

Thank you

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