Throughout January and February, thousands of at-home COVID-19 tests were distributed to Monroe-Woodbury students and staff supplied by the district.

On Saturday, Jan. 8, tests were distributed at Pine Tree and Central Valley Elementary followed by distribution over the following week at the Education Center. Students and their parents had to fill out a form first if they were interested in picking the tests up.

On February 17, every student in the high school received two testing kits each containing two tests during their ninth period class.

On Dec. 27, 2021, it was announced by the state that all schools in New York would receive at-home testing kits for their students. These test kits would begin to be distributed in early January.

“This is an outreach to all 731 districts in the state,” said New York State Governor Kathy Hochul. “We have at least three million tests out for our schools and students.”

Each school district in the state approached distributing these tests differently.

Monroe-Woodbury based their distribution on how fast the tests could be made available to students of the district.

“The district used a multi-pronged approach to getting the tests in the hands of the students as quickly as possible,” said district COVID-19 Coordinator Matthew Kravatz. 

Many students expressed their support in how the district chose to distribute the tests during the January distribution.

“The form was very easy to fill out and picking the test up was easier than I expected,” said Senior Clarianny Uribe. “I thought it would take a while to distribute, but it was really quick.”

“It was really easy to pick up,” said Senior Emilio Lugo. “The process went by really fast.”

Each student was provided a box with two test kits for use. These two test kits were meant to be distributed to every student k-12 in each state as a way to prevent further transmission in schools.

“This was an effort to provide testing opportunities for students and as a way to keep students in school,” said Mr. Kravatz.

Some students picked up the test for immediate use, while others kept it in case they needed it in the future. Sophomore Rowan Mottola was one student who used the test after picking it up.

“I used the test kit and the directions were clear,” said Mottola. “Following them was easy and the results were correct.”

The district hopes to continue distribution of these tests in the future, as many students have few alternate options to acquire them.

“They are very hard to find and quite pricey at any store that does supply them,” said Mottola.