Dear Staff, Students, and Parents/Guardians,
I am writing to inform you that two individuals in our Greylock Elementary School community have tested positive for COVID-19 as a result of a known exposure. The individuals were tested and identified as positive on Wednesday, April 7, 2021. These two positive cases are related to an exposure outside of school and are not related to the positive case reported earlier this week. At this time there is no evidence of community spread within the school.
The new cases impact Greylock Elementary School and will not require a further move to remote learning to quarantine students or staff due to a lack of contact since the last day of possible exposure. Students and staff can continue with full in-person learning on Thursday, April 8, 2021 and Friday, April 9, 2021.
Though we cannot provide specific information about the individuals who tested positive, North Adams Public Schools has implemented our protocols for notification, disinfection, and quarantine. Contact tracing has been conducted by School Nurse Leader Lauren Gage and she is assured that there is no possible exposure within the schools due to these cases. We are also following all Department of Public Health protocols, including collaborating with our local board of health to complete contact tracing. Additionally, we are asking those parents whose students are tested for COVID-19 at their health care provider’s office or at the Stop the Spread Center located at 97 Church Street, North Adams to please report the results to the school nurse in a timely manner.
The district’s ongoing pooled testing program continues to assist us in determining if there is potential of community transmission of COVID-19.
If you would like your student to be tested via our pooled testing program, please complete a consent form. To complete the Pooled Testing Consent Form, go to: https://www.napsk12.org/page/pooledcovid19testing. If you have any questions about the pooled testing program, please email the school nurse Lauren Gage at lgage@napsk12.org.
We will continue to be vigilant in adhering to all of the protocols that have been put in place in an effort to continue in-person learning. We are also continuing to provide remote learning for all students required to quarantine at home. We are committed to continuous communication with, and support of, our families. If there is additional transmission as a result of this case or a separate case, we will send out another message immediately. Thank you for your continued support.
Sincerely,
Barbara Malkas, Ed.D.
Superintendent of North Adams Public Schools