As we begin this new school year, the health and safety of all students and staff remains our top concern. We are excited to announce that Natchitoches Parish Schools are starting a voluntary weekly COVID-19 testing program to help keep our school district safe and allow us to have regular in-person learning. Through this program, we will offer the highest quality PCR testing available at no cost to teachers, staff, students, and families.
Keeping school buildings open depends on our ability to identify and take immediate action to address COVID-19 concerns on our campuses. By identifying infections early, weekly testing will help keep transmission low and students in school for in-person learning, sports, and extracurricular activities.
This program will allow NPSB to test both symptomatic and asymptomatic individuals and reduce the risk to our school community. Each week a trained healthcare team from LSU Health Shreveport will visit to conduct the testing program using a short nasal swab. The samples will be couriered to the CLIA-certified laboratory and tested using PCR technology. Results will be delivered by text or email by the end of the following day and any individuals with positive tests will be contacted by our team about next steps.
Every additional person tested reduces the chance of the virus spreading in our community. It is our hope that all of our families will take advantage of this opportunity to help our schools be as safe as they can possibly be and to remain open without any disruption.
If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to LSUHS at 318-675-7588 or visit the website at www.lsuhs.edu. We deeply appreciate your partnership and your commitment to keeping our school community safe and healthy. To register for testing at your school or to learn more about the testing process, please visit the links below: