SLA offers weekly on-site PCR testing for students, staff, and families at the SLA Main Campus, located at 9 Hanover Place, Brooklyn, NY, 11201. SLA has partnered with BackToWork in order to offer on-site, cost-free COVID-19 PCR testing for our school community. Participation in our testing program is voluntary, but highly encouraged and recommended for all families.
Our partnered healthcare technicians work with local schools and are experienced testing and interacting with young children. The nasal swab we perform is a front-of-nose, non-invasive nasal swab, not a deep nasal swab, and our families have reported that it is both comfortable and non-invasive. We have had success performing the swab with small children (ages 2–4) from our Early Childhood Annex as well.
Individuals are never billed for the cost of the test. Our provider invoices families’ insurance companies for the cost of telemedical screening and providing on-site health technicians, and individuals are never liable for any cost not covered by the provider. For more information on billing, click here.
In order to participate, please read the information below:
All individuals who wish to enroll in on-site testing with SLA must complete an initial registration here. A registration must be submitted individually for each person to be tested.
If you have already registered for on-site testing with SLA prior, you do not need to submit a new registration form.
Upon completing your registration, you will receive an email invitation to complete a telemedical screening with PremierMD. This is not an email to schedule your test day, but only a remote screening in advance of test day.
Telemedical screenings can be completed one time as a family, and are only a short series of questions as part of the medical process to provide you with a prescription. Each telemedical appointment takes only a couple of minutes.
Telemedical screenings will need to be completed each week that you plan to be test on-site. This process is required to ensure that testing is cost-free and so that the lab is authorized to test your sample.
You will receive an automatic weekly invite via text or email to complete telemedical screening after your initial registration is completed.
Within 24 hours of completing your telemedical screening, you will receive a prescription to print and bring to test day.
All individuals must have their own individual prescriptions printed to present to the health technician on-site; these prescriptions are packaged with your collection sample to authorize the lab to complete the test.
On-site testing will be held each Wednesday at the SLA Main Campus lobby.
Students and teachers will be tested during school hours. Each class will complete their tests on the way to or from park.
Family members of students should only visit the SLA Main Campus between 3:30 PM and 5:30 PM to be tested. SLA will send an appointment booking link before each test day to ensure that everyone arrives at different times and to reduce waiting time.
Families with young children may prefer to be present for their child’s test. In this case, please let the SLA Student Affairs office know that you would prefer to test your child while present between 3:30 PM and 5:30 PM, and arrive with your child at that time.
If your child is being tested with SLA during school hours, please place your child’s prescription in their backpack. We will present it to the health technician when it is their turn to be tested.
Families should arrive to the Main Campus at their scheduled appointment time. Wait times will be minimized by the appointment schedule. Testing an individual takes approximately 1 minute, and testing a family takes approximately 3–4 minutes.
While waiting for your appointment, please social distance from other family members. Only the family being tested should enter the school at a time.
Results are sent to families via email within two business days following the test date. SLA will automatically receive your results.
FAQ
Testing regularly helps SLA eliminate possible vectors of on-site exposure in the event that we have an on-site positive case. Knowing that no other children were positive in a child’s classroom, for example, confirms that a child was infected outside of school. This helps us ensure that the school setting remains safe for all children and teachers.
In order for testing to be effective for a school of SLA’s population size, we need to test frequently and with high compliance, so we ask as many families to participate as are able.
Testing is also offered as a quality-of-life benefit to our school community, as we can ensure consistent, quick result turnarounds in a manner that is accessible and cost-free.
Finally, beginning a testing program now will ensure we are immediately prepared if any testing requirement is ever issued by New York State in order for us to remain open.
Currently, due to the logistics of operating the SLA Annex, on-site testing is not offered at the SLA Annex while school is in session. This may change as we evaluate how our on-site testing program at the SLA Main Campus is running.
However, if testing is required over future school recesses, we will offer on-site testing at the SLA Annex to complete any such requirement, and will inform families accordingly.
Yes! You and/or your child may visit the SLA Main Campus during the 3:30–5:30 PM period on Wednesdays; simply follow the same procedure above and schedule your appointment.
Please contact missinglabresults@backtoworksolutions.com if you have not received your lab results after two days have elapsed from your initial appointment.