• Anywhere from 5 – 25 swabs collected from each classroom will be mixed together into a group of swabs called a “pool” and sent to a lab where the whole pool is tested for COVID-19 at one time. 
• If the pool test comes back negative, all participants in the pool are COVID-negative. In this case, you will not hear from us. (No news = good news)
• If the pool test comes back positive, it means that at least one person in the pool is COVID-positive. In this case, all members of that pool will be called and will participate in an individual follow-up test (BinaxNOW test) which produces results in 15 minutes.
• Per DESE guidance, students/staff in a positive pool do NOT need to quarantine leading up to the follow-up test, but should continue to follow usual COVID precautions.
• If the individual follow-up test comes back negative, the student is clear to return to in person learning. If the individual follow-up test comes back positive, we will work with families to make arrangements to have the student quarantine and get connected to care and the contact tracing process begins.

• The program is voluntary; your child is not required to participate in the program. If you do not consent for your child to participate, s/he can still come to school. However, we strongly encourage your participation to help us reduce the spread of COVID-19.
• The test is free. You do not need to pay for the test or have insurance to get the test.
• Participating individuals are tested individually once a week with a lower nasal swab test – it is quick, easy and it does not hurt.

• To participate in the testing program, you need to sign the consent form for your child(ren). You only need to sign once to consent for testing each week.

Download Consent Form Here

The type of testing we are using is called “Pooled Testing.” Pooled testing makes it easier and faster to find individuals who might have COVID-19. Pooled testing also helps ensure a smooth system that does not interrupt teaching and learning; we can test entire classes at once in a short period of time to minimize interruptions to classroom time.

Testing will be slowly rolled out across the district over the next five weeks, beginning with the DELTA Program and Greenlodge Elementary School (Grades 1 & 5 only). By starting with these two learning environments, we hope to gain valuable perspective and understanding about how the testing process can be most successful in our district, as well as allow us to gather student, staff and parent feedback, and pave the way for a successful program in all our schools. We appreciate your patience and flexibility as we implement this new program.

Staff and Students who would like to participate in the COVID Pooled Testing program MUST complete and sign a consent form.   These forms only need to be signed once to participate in testing each week.

Online link for DMS & DHS: For Middle and High School families who are using the on-line consent form, the district code you need is dendrite-dedham.

Dedham STAFF Consent Form to Download

Student Consent Form - English

Student Consent Form - Spanish

Student Consent Form - Pashto

Student Consent Form - Russian

Student Consent Form - Portuguese

Student Consent Form - Greek

Student Consent Form - HaitianCreole

Student Consent Form - Arabic

Student Consent Form - Albanian