Voluntary COVID PCR Testing 01/25/21

Alamo Heights Families,


AHISD has worked hard to maintain our AHISD Culture of Care by following health and safety protocols to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. The various layers of prevention have allowed our in-person instruction to continue since we re-opened our schools in September. It continues to be important for us to continue to be diligent about the important practices that have helped protect us including the wearing of masks, washing/ sanitizing of hands, maintaining distance as feasible, completing the daily screener, and staying home when sick or symptomatic.


We will now add one more layer to our efforts to mitigate the spread of the virus: voluntary weekly PCR COVID testing with rapid results for employees and students who choose to participate. AHISD will partner with Community Labs to conduct this voluntary, weekly testing on campus for potentially asymptomatic individuals who are currently on campus for instruction.


The Community Labs screening process uses a PCR test—the FDA gold standard in COVID-19 testing. The actual test is painless and uses a less-invasive method that is 95% effective in detecting asymptomatic silent spreaders of the virus.The screening is free to all students and staff.


Here are the next steps we will take as a school community:

  • If you choose to have your child participate in the weekly screening, please complete and sign the consent form giving permission for weekly screening by Community Labs and either return it to your campus principal’s office or scan it via email to [email protected] by 3 pm, Thursday, January 28.
  •  Unlike other COVID-19 tests you may have seen, a self-administered swab of the inside front of the nostril-- not deep in the nasal cavity-- is all that is needed. Here is a video that shows the test being administered.
  • The weekly tests will be performed on-campus at each campus during different times of the day on Tuesdays. The first test date will be Tuesday, February 2, 2021.
  •  Within about 24-hours, you will be contacted with your child’s results through the primary email address on file with the school district. 
  • Those who test positive will be required to quarantine at home. Those who test negative continue their regular routines, following our important safety protocols as usual. 
  • All test results are private. Only you and the AHISD health personnel will be notified regarding the results of the test.

We are confident this screening process will provide an extra layer of support and peace of mind in our efforts to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.


If you want to sign up in a future week, that is fine, too. The consent form is available on our COVID-19 Reopening webpage, under Community Labs Information. 


If you have questions, please click here for more information. If you still have questions, you may call your campus principal’s office.


AHISD Communications


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