GLEN ELLYN – Supported by the results of its first COVID-19 saliva surveillance testing, Glen Ellyn Elementary District 41 on Dec. 3 brought back students to its four elementary schools in a blended in-person model.
Hadley Junior High School remained in full remote due to the high number of students and staff quarantined.
Out of 1,847 test results processed by the lab, there were just six presumed positives. If the test reveals a presumed positive, that individual is told to get the nasal swab COVID-19 test.
Dr. Mark Dworkin, an epidemiologist with the UIC School of Public Health, which the district is consulting with, recommended that it was safe to reopen schools if at least 50% of those who signed up for screening returned their samples, and combined positives based on saliva testing and cases reported to nurses over Thanksgiving break were 3% or less across the district.
District 41, which had 76% of its students in school for in-person learning prior to shifting to fully remote on Nov. 16, is offering COVID-19 saliva screening through Safeguard Surveillance LLC, which has also provided the saliva testing for La Grange School District 105, La Grange Elementary School District 102 and New Trier High School.
The District 102 plan was developed under the guidance of Dr. Edward Campbell, a professor of microbiology and immunology at Loyola University Medical Center, who is also a district board member.
Under the voluntary screening program, which will be conducted once a week while students and staff are in person, district schools provide participants with a screening kit that includes a plastic straw, a collection tube labeled with a bar code sticker and a plastic baggie. The district created a YouTube video with instructions on how to collect the saliva samples at home.
Participants open the top of the tube, put the straw on the tube and spit through the straw a few times, then return the sample in the small bag. The cost is $11 per test, with the district spending just over $20,000 for the first round of weekly testing, but is free to all participating families.
District families last week were to drop off the tests at dropboxes by the main entrance to school. Staff then collected the samples and delivered the samples to the lab for the screening.
The lab has a quick turnaround, with results just a few hours after the samples are received at the lab. As the test is non-diagnostic, it only informs participants of a finding of "clinical significance." Individuals with that result are notified and asked to contact their healthcare provider for further instructions and guidance, and to obtain a COVID-19 RT-PCR test, and notify their school nurse of the result.
While many other school districts around DuPage County remain in remote learning, District 41 hopes that with the screening program it is able to reduce school closures and quarantines and allow for more in-person instruction, identify potential cases of COVID-19 in the school population early to reduce transmission and drive down overall rates in the community.
More than 1,900 students, just over half of the close to 3,600 students in the district, and 220 staff signed up for the first round of screening, although not all returned the samples.
The district is sent testing supplies home Dec. 4 for a second round of testing, to be returned Monday and Tuesday. Testing is not mandatory, but is highly encouraged.
"Based on our conversations with the other districts that are conducting surveillance testing, we anticipate that our participation rates will continue to grow," district spokesperson Erika Krehbiel said.
The district school board heard presentations from different screening programs and voted to approve the screening agreement with Safeguard Surveillance at the Nov. 9 board meeting.
The district began its consultive relationship with Dworkin, a board-certified infectious diseases physician trained in the CDC’s Epidemic Intelligence Service program, on Nov. 25. Dworkin has emphasized the importance of having a large rate (90%) of participation in the screening program for meaningful test results.
The saliva screening is comparable to a PCR nasal swab test, but cheaper, faster and less sensitive and ideal for isolating infectious participants.
"Surveillance testing allows the district to identify asymptomatic carriers of the virus and significantly lessen the opportunities for in-school transmission," Krehbiel said.
Krehbiel said that in addition to the weekly testing while students are in school, the district will also conduct testing after long breaks such as to determine if the health data supports in-person learning.
The district is also in the process of finalizing plans to offer free BinaxNow (nasal testing) testing, a rapid diagnostic test.
"We are extremely excited to offer a very comprehensive mitigation plan which will now include testing," Krehbiel said. "Our goal is to stay safe so that we can stay open."