Dear WES Families,
It’s been a joy to welcome back some of our Kindergarten and Grade 1 Dragons to campus this week. The children are adapting to the new safety protocols very quickly and seem excited to be back on campus.
At this time, we are continuing forward with our earlier stated plans to offer on-site instruction to students in Grades 2-4 beginning October 5 and to students in Grades 5-8 beginning October 13. As we continue to prioritize the health and wellness of our community, we have made the decision to bring all students in Grades 2-8 back in our AAWBB model, which will allow for reduced density throughout our Elementary and Middle School. Grades 3, 5, and 7 (the A Group) will have the option to learn on-site on Mondays and Tuesdays . Grades 2, 4, 6, and 8 (the B Group) will be offered on-site learning on Thursdays and Fridays. All students will learn virtually on Wednesdays (W Day). If you have any questions about this model, please reach out to your division director. We will also share more information in our upcoming parent forums. Parents of students in Grades 2-8, please fill out this brief survey and let us know if your child will come to campus for on-site instruction in October.
As we started to prepare for a staggered return to school, the administration began exploring the possibility of offering COVID-19 testing here on campus. We are excited to report that WES has partnered with Capital Diagnostics to provide on-site testing for all WES students and employees prior to the start of Elementary and Middle School students returning to campus. There will be two mandatory testing sessions required both for students and employees who are already engaging in learning or other activities on campus, as well as those who will begin on-site instruction in October. The tests are currently fully covered by individual health insurance. The State of Maryland, through the CARES Act, will cover the cost for those without health insurance. There will be no out-of-pocket expense for families or employees.
We believe that COVID-19 testing provides us with an additional layer of precaution, in addition to the extensive health and safety protocols we already have in place, to help students and faculty members feel more confident as we resume on-site instruction. Our initial testing program will be limited to these two mandatory sessions. However, our goal is a sustained and regular testing schedule because we believe frequent testing will give us an evolving picture of the health of our community. We will assess our community’s experience with the first two tests as well as whether these tests will continue to be fully covered by insurance providers. This information will help us determine our path forward in terms of offering consistent COVID-19 testing.
Testing Details
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WES will offer PCR testing on campus on Thursday, October 1, and Thursday, October 8. Both tests are mandatory for all WES employees and students who are already learning and/or teaching on campus as well as those who will be coming to campus in the weeks ahead.
- We will offer walk-up testing from 1 to 4 p.m. and drive-through testing from 4 to 7 p.m. on both dates.
- We will have balloons and stickers during the testing sessions to make the process a little more comfortable for our younger students.
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Pre-registration is strongly recommended. You can do so HERE. The site code is WEPISCOPAL. You will also need to fill out THIS consent form and bring it with you to the testing site.
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You may choose to get your child tested off campus at a site of your choice, but the test must be a PCR test. Your child will also need to be tested twice: once within seven days prior to October 5 and again seven days prior to October 13.
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Families who choose to test through another provider should bring a hard copy of the results to school during normal operating hours or email test results to covid@w-e-s.org. WES must receive proof of a negative test before children will be allowed to come to campus.
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You can find a FAQ about our upcoming COVID-19 testing program HERE.
About PCR Testing
- A PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test detects viral RNA, which will be present in the body before antibodies form or symptoms of the disease are present. These tests can tell whether or not someone has the virus very early on.
- There are different types of PCR tests. One requires the examiner to probe fairly deeply into the nasopharyngeal cavity. WES is using an alternative, and less invasive, PCR test. Our test requires a swab of the nasal cavity that will be 1 cm (approximately .4 inches) deep for roughly 10 seconds.
By signing the consent form mentioned above, you agree for Capital Diagnostics to release your child’s test results directly to the school. Capital Diagnostics will also provide results to families within 24 hours of the testing via email.
As I mentioned earlier, our intention is to offer a regular, on-site testing program for the WES community. We are actively investigating how this might work, and I will continue to be in touch.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to me.
Sincerely,
