WINONA, Minn. (KWNO)-Winona Area Public Schools (WAPS) will begin offering free COVID-19 test kits to middle and high school students this week.
The test kids will be available in the nurse’s office at Winona Middle School, Winona Senior High School, and Winona Area Learning Center on Tuesday, May 11, and again on Tuesday, May 25. The kits are required to be returned and completed by the next day.
“Testing remains a valuable tool in slowing the spread of COVID-19 in our schools and community,” WAPS COVID-19 Coordinator Jackie Henderson said. “There has been an increase in the number of positive COVID-19 cases in Winona, especially among school-age children. We hope that all middle and high school students take advantage of this testing program so we can finish the school year healthy and safe and in the classroom.”
WAPS to offer free COVID test kits for middle, high school students (5/7/2021)
Winona Area Public Schools will begin offering free COVID-19 test kits for middle and high school students beginning next week.
The test kids will be available in the nurse’s office at Winona Middle School, Winona Senior High School and Winona Area Learning Center on Tuesday, May 11, and again on Tuesday, May 25. Students must return the completed test kit the day after pick-up (Wednesday, May 12, and Wednesday, May 26), so the school district can send it to the lab for processing. Results will be available 24-48 hours after the kits are sent to the lab.
(12/23/2020)
In response to recently released state guidance that allows elementary students to return to the classroom in January regardless of local COVID infection rates, area school districts are planning to welcome elementary students back in-person and aiming to have secondary students learn in a hybrid model.
Under the new state guidance, rates of COVID transmission in counties are not the central piece of information school districts must consider in deciding which learning model to implement for elementary students. Elementary schools are allowed to resume in-person classes so long as they follow certain COVID precautions. The infection rates still apply to decisions regarding whether middle and high school students may return to the classroom.