Case Study:
Pooled Testing in Framingham Public Schools
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About Framingham Public Schools
15 total schools serving 9,000 students and 1,700 staff
1 PreK
9 Elementary Schools
3 Middle Schools
1 High School
Hybrid learning transitioning to full time in person learning throughout April.
Keys to Success
Good Communications
From the district: The superintendent sent parents a communication introducing pool testing and includes a pooled testing update in his weekly SMORE to families.
From the school: Pooled Testing Overview and FAQ provided to School Principals for inclusion in weekly parent communication
From the student: Paper versions of the Testing Communication and Consent Forms were also sent home with each child.
Tip! FPS amended the Testing Consent Form to ask parents to select whether they want their student to participate or DO NOT want their student to participate. This allows us to track families who have not returned the form and provide targeted outreach to those families to encourage participation.
2. Dedicated Staff
Testing Coordinator – 35-40 hours per week
Nurse Coordinator – 35-40 hours per week
Testing Coordinator - 35-40 hours per week
Information/Technology Coordinator – 3 hours per week
Additional support from the Director of Safety and Security, Director of HR, Director of Health & Wellness to support the implementation planning and rollout communications and decisions across the district.
Outside advice and support from the Shah Family Foundation on program design.
3. Testing all week, with outside support
Across the 14 schools, it takes 4 days to test with our Meet Caregivers testing teams that go school to school. Testing days are Monday through Thursday. Each school has a designated testing day.
Testing Operations
Testing Partners
CIC Health
Meet Caregivers
Fallon Ambulance
Testing Schedule
Across the 14 schools, it takes 4 days to test with our Meet Caregivers testing teams that go school to school. Testing days are Monday through Thursday. Each school has a designated testing day.
Note. Testing is required for those participating in athletics. See notice here.
Collecting the Pooled Test Swab
At the Elementary and Middle School levels we utilize mobile testing carts that go classroom to classroom to test students. Students are called outside of the classroom to complete the test.
The High School utilizes a central testing location and calls students down for testing in groups based on their last name (students with last name starting with A-E, etc).
Students Pre-K-grade 2 have the test administered and students grades 3-12 self-administer the nasal swab. We are utilizing the program’s agency staffing (Meet Caregivers) to administer all onsite testing
Transporting Pools to the Lab
Meet Caregivers project managers deliver the pools to the Broad Institute at the end of each testing day.
Follow-up Testing
Individual PCR tests are administered at designated follow-up testing sites.
Outcomes
48% of in-person learners are participating as of week 2 of the program and it has steadily increased as more students return to in-person learning.
“Pooled testing is one of the many mitigation strategies that the district has implemented to help prevent the spread of COVID within our school community. The pooled testing program is an added layer that has given our families and staff increased peace of mind and confidence in the safety of our buildings and school community. The program also allows us to identify asymptomatic students and to quickly identify positive cases, quarantine them and contact trace to prevent further spread of COVID-19 in the school community.”