Sharon Schools To Participate In 6 More Weeks Of Pool Testing

SHARON, MA — Sharon Public Schools has been approved by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) to participate in an additional six weeks of pool COVID-19 testing.

This week marks the end of the district's original four-week Ginkgo Bioworks Concentric pooled testing pilot that began on Jan. 11.

"We are lucky to have been matched with Ginkgo Bioworks once again," said Superintendent Meg Dussault in a letter to families. "They have come onboard as one of the pool testing service providers for DESE, therefore we are able to continue our collaboration for an additional 6 weeks. We will provide more information regarding the start date and logistics around this additional 6 weeks of pool testing in future communications."

Anyone who wishes to participate in the pool testing must sign a consent form by Saturday, Feb. 6 at 10:00 a.m., said Dussault. Those who participated in the first pool testing program do not need to sign up again and will automatically be moved into the second program.

Sharon schools are also still in partnership with DESE for the BinaxNOW antigen test program, which enables the district to test both symptomatic and asymptomatic students and staff members.

All COVID-19 testing opportunities at Sharon Public Schools are optional.