February 3, 2022

Dear APS families, 

Andover Public Schools has now received test kits for those students who have opted in to DESE’s At Home testing program.  Kits will be distributed at school buildings and you should expect to see kits arriving home with your children today.  

As a reminder, students who participate will receive one kit every two weeks to test themselves – each kit contains 2 tests and each individual should test once per week. Individuals can choose which day they would like to administer their weekly test, based on needs or symptoms.

If an individual tests positive at home, they should enter this result in the Aspen Portal. Schools will report the number of positive cases to DESE as part of the weekly COVID-19 reporting already in place. As a result of this new testing program, school administrators and nurses will no longer be performing the Test & Stay option or individualized contact tracing across the district. 

Important information regarding the program: 

• DESE’s Weekly At-Home program is optional for staff and students, regardless of vaccination status. Families and staff must opt-in to participate.
• Families who have not yet responded but wish their child to participate can opt-in via the Aspen Portal. Parents/Guardians must fill out the form for each child they wish to participate. Newly enrolled students will receive a test kit on the next planned delivery date. 
• Instructions on how to sign up and report a positive COVID-19 test result are also available on our website. 

The test is the iHealth 15-minute at-home FDA-approved rapid antigen test. 

Those who opt-in to the program should test weekly, regardless of vaccination status or whether or not they are experiencing symptoms. If your child is experiencing symptoms, we encourage you to take the test immediately. 

• Positive test results are shared with your school district for informational purposes only and will be reflected on the dashboard. Individual results will remain confidential, and they will never be made public. 
• For testing on instructions visit the DESE webpage. Translated instructions are also on this page. 
• Test kits are temperature sensitive and kits should not be left in the car or in cold temperatures.

 Please visit  the APS COVID-19 webpage for updated information. 

Rita Casper MBA RN NCSN

APS Director of Nursing

Andover Public Schools