Fresno schools giving out at-home COVID-19 tests. Here’s how and where to get one

Fresno Unified will be distributing at-home test kits for FUSD families on Friday and Monday from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The test kits are a part of the 160,000 test kits received by the Fresno County Superintendent of Schools on Wednesday.

About six million kits were promised to all California students by Gov. Gavin Newsom in December.

Fresno Unified is the largest school district in the Central Valley, with approximately 70,000 students and the third largest school district in California.

Other local school districts like Clovis Unified and Selma Unified schools already received their testing kits earlier in December.

All local school districts are expected to get a batch of at-home rapid test kits for their students within the next two weeks, according to the Fresno Superintendent of Schools and the Fresno Department of Health.

School districts recommend students get tested before the first day of school.

“It’s about peace of mind,” Superintendent Bob Nelson told the Education Lab.

COVID-19 cases in Fresno County have nearly doubled in a week, and county health officials said they are bracing for an outbreak in the valley. Meanwhile, pediatric vaccination rates for the approximately 206,000 school-age children in Fresno County lag well behind the statewide average.

Schools around the nation have scrambled to take additional measures against the omicron-led surge, leading many to question whether public schools can or should remain open. But Nelson this week joined other local leaders who said schools would only close again as a last resort.

“I think the only reason we would close the school is because we don’t have adequate staff to keep it open or the number of cases are so high that we just have to look at it differently,” Nelson said.

Fresno teachers union criticizes FUSD communication

The announcement comes on the heels of a statement released Thursday morning by the Fresno Teachers Association expressing concerns over the rise of the omicron variant.

In the statement, the teacher’s union criticized what it said was the district’s lack of communication with teachers about COVID-19 safety plans as students prepare to return from the winter break on Tuesday.

“Our students, staff, and community deserve a proactive plan. FTA is committed to working with Fresno Unified leadership to co-design a plan to address the current reality of the pandemic, and we are prepared to make adjustments to the plan as needed based on the impact this virus may have on our students and adults in the future,” said Manuel Bonilla, president of the Fresno Teachers Association.

The district responded to the FTA’s concerns through a staff-wide email sent Thursday.

“We absolutely agree with FTA that we as a district must take proactive and precautionary measures to ensure the health and safety of students and staff as we return from the winter break,” the email said.

District officials laid those protections in the email, which they said include the following:

Ensuring classrooms have enough PPE,

Enforcing indoor universal mask-wearing

Providing no-cost rapid tests for students and employees

Requiring and providing free COVID-19 testing for students and employees considered a close contact

Extending COVID-19 leave coverage for all employees who test positive,

Establish and communicate metrics to determine when individual classrooms and/or schools transition to online learning

Update air-filtration systems

Provide COVID-19 vaccine drives for students and families.

Health officials have warned that the Omicron virus is more contagious than other variants of COVID-19.

FUSD COVID test pickup sites

Parents will be able to pick up their kits via curb-side pick up at the following locations from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday and Monday:

• Bullard High School : North Parking Lot
• Gaston Middle School : Main Drop Off Area
• Fresno High: Echo Street in front of the Library
• Hoover High School: North Parking Lot
• McLane High School: Main Drop Off Area
• Roosevelt High School: Cedar Ave. Parking Lot
• Sunnyside High School: South Parking Lot

This story was originally published January 6, 2022 at 1:21 PM.