North Cook News

The required weekly rapid saliva test for students continues at New Trier High School. Those not participating are assigned to remote learning.

The mandatory saliva screening, in which a $1.3 million budget was allocated by the district for the program, is not a requirement for staff.

"Making sure to turn in your student's saliva sample weekly not only helps protect students and staff on campus, but it also has benefits for participants — including identifying whether your student may be an asymptomatic carrier and helping to prevent the spread of the virus to family and friends," Winnetka principal Denise Dubravec and Northfield principal Paul Waechtler said in a statement, The Patch reported.

As of the week of March 15, there has been over a 3 percent increase in the student participation rate since the program started in November but a 5.70 percent drop compared to the week prior. The 89.13 percent participation rate during the week of March 15 also showed a week-on-week decline in the participation rate since the week of Feb. 1 which was at 97.61 percent.  

Despite a high participation rate, COVID-19 cases have spiked at New Trier High School, the Chicago Tribune reported. Though saddened by this, board member Jean Hahn recognized the effort of the families who she said are staunchly participating in the program and patiently wait for their turn to drop off student saliva samples.

Since the start of the second semester, a total of 23,177 student saliva samples have been screened according to The Patch. The school's website provides full information on the program.

To date, staff participation has not yet reached 90 percent since the program started last year. The highest rate recorded so far was during the week of Feb. 1 at 84.87 percent but has drastically dropped to 70.39 percent during the week of March 15.