GUILDERLAND — All seven of the Guilderland schools have now had cases of COVID-19 this semester.

On Thursday evening, Dec. 10, Superintendent Marie Wiles sent another of her now-familiar “Dear GCSD Families” emails to announce one new case each at Guilderland High School, Lynnwood Elementary School, and the last school to have a positive test result — Pine Bush Elementary.

According to the state’s COVID-19 Report Card, the district so far this school year has had 37 confirmed cases.

“Both Lynnwood and Pine Bush Elementary Schools continue to be open for in-person instruction,” Wiles wrote. In Thursday’s email. “With respect to Guilderland High School, it is currently fully remote through Tuesday, Dec. 15, with students returning for hybrid instruction on Wednesday, Dec. 16.”

She also wrote, “I understand that it can be worrisome to continue to learn of new cases in our school district, but it is very important to point out that we have not had a single instance where the virus has spread at school. Our health and safety protocols are working! Even the Governor has said that the protocols that schools have put in place are ‘highly effective.’”

School testing

On Monday, during a press-conference conversation with Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious-disease expert, Governor Andrew Cuomo asked about school safety. 

Fauci said he was originally surprised that the COVID-19 infection rates in schools were so low because he had anticipated it would look more like the influenza model. The best strategy, Fauci said, would be to subsidize bar and restaurant owners so they could close their businesses without crashing while keeping schools open.

Before Cuomo announced his new winter plan for battling COVID-19 — which will focus on hospital capacity rather than infection rates — Albany County had been on the cusp of being named a yellow precautionary zone. Schools were gearing up for the then-required 20 percent weekly testing of students and staff.

Although the new metrics for naming micro-cluster zones or what the requirements will be have not yet been released, some schools are readying themselves for testing in anticipation of the new guidelines.

On Thursday afternoon, Wiles sent an email to GCSD families about Guilderland’s plans “should our region enter one of the state’s micro-cluster zones — yellow, orange, or red.”

She wrote, “Ultimately, our goal this year is to stay open for in-person instruction, and we want to be prepared to take the necessary steps to ensure that can happen. Although we are not yet within one of the state’s zones, we ask for your voluntary consent for your child(ren) to be tested if COVID testing at school remains necessary to stay open for in-person instruction.”

The district is now sending weekly emails with a link for each child so that parents can either grant or deny permission for COVID-19 testing.

“Our planning is based on the assumption that testing at school will be necessary,” Wiles wrote. “Testing would be done by a school nurse trained to administer a BinaxNow rapid test. This is a minimally invasive shallow swab test involving a swab (similar to a Q-tip) going in the front of the nose.”

Results from the BinaxNow rapid test are back within 15 minutes, Wiles said, and the school would “immediately contact the family of any child whose test results are positive for the virus and we will follow all of our current protocols regarding working with public health partners regarding contact tracing and quarantining.”

Some Guilderland students have chosen to learn remotely from home and they will not be tested, nor will remote-only staff.

“No individual is required to be tested, but we hope to have strong cooperation so that we can keep our schools open for in-person instruction,” Wiles wrote. “Consent does not mean your child will be tested. They will become a part of a group of individuals from which we will randomly select. You will be notified if your child is selected to be tested.”

If the district is unable to meet the minimum required number of tests, it would likely move to all-remote learning for a period that is undefined at this point.

Wiles concluded, “As soon as we know more about the timing and type of any testing, we will be in touch again. We understand that this issue may raise a variety of considerations and questions, you can send any of your questions to .”