Salem Professor Helps Develop School Coronavirus Test Guidance

SALEM, MA — Kristin Pangallo brings a different perspective to Safer Teachers, Safer Students than many of her colleagues on the statewide collaborative.

The committee, whose mission is to share information and best practices about the efficient and effective implementation of coronavirus testing in Massachusetts schools, is made up of members from Harvard, Medway, Newton, Wellesley, Weston and Westwood.

The Salem State professor and Salem School Committee member brings the perspective of a small city that has been at the forefront of school virus testing with a demographic that contrasts with the vast majority of the collaborative representatives.

"One of the core tenants of the group is that they wanted what they were offering to be available to all districts," Pangallo told Patch of her involvement on Wednesday. "Salem's perspective in this is important because things that will work in Wellesley and Newton won't work in Salem. It was critical to us that we didn't disenfranchise students through this process."

The process, which started in late fall, now includes a comprehensive guide available to all districts in the state on how to best begin a testing program based on that district's size and needs.

Salem tested staff throughout the fall and was able to test staff, students and their families at the height of the holiday surge before hybrid students returned to the classroom on Jan. 8. With high school students back last week for the first time since last March 12, the district is now planning to begin weekly pool nasal swab testing for all students by the end of the month.

While Pangallo is proud of Salem for the work it took to get to this point, she said it was not easy and there was recognition among the collaborative that most districts need some help getting there.

"Implementing testing is a really big lift for school districts," she said. "It's not straightforward at all. Even with the help the state is providing, there are a lot of challenges. There are things that aren't really obvious, but are really important when you realize them."

The guide covers the different types of testing available and why one type of testing may work in one community better than another. In Salem, for instance, Pangallo said accessibility to the testing in schools was very important because students may not have the transportation to get to a more municipal-based system as students in places like Harvard or Weston.

"We were able to share what we all had learned with other people exploring this," she said. "While it's challenging, it's doable."

Pangallo said the benefits of testing is that it allows districts to maximize in-classroom learning through identifying and isolating positive cases, as well as reassuring staff and families that any spread within the community that enters the buildings is likely to be found and minimized.

"You can't learn if you are stressed," she said. "It helps build confidence and that's important."

The January testing in Salem revealed that out of 1,850 staff, students and their families tested, only one staff member, 11 students and 19 family members were positive. That positive test rate of 1.7 percent was much lower than the statewide rate that reached as high as 8.6 percent in early January.

"It really allows us as people who are making decisions in the district to do so with actual information," she said. "Back in August (when districts created back-to-classroom blueprints) we were making the best decisions we could with the best information we had, but we didn't always know everything we needed to know."

With the hope that educators will soon be among the professions eligible for vaccination, and with some districts beginning to at least consider bringing back students more days for more hours in a way that may necessitate the easing of social distancing protocols, Pangallo said virus testing remains vital to elevating confidence in in-classroom learning.

"It's one tool," she said. "A pregnancy test doesn't help people from getting pregnant. It just tells you if you are pregnant.

"But COVID testing is an important part of a mitigation strategy."

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(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)

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