Communities Fighting COVID!: Returning Our Kids Back to School Safely

Background: This study generated evidence for effective and feasible COVID-19 testing for middle school students and staff in a California school district that had a high proportion of ethnic minority students and socioeconomically disadvantaged families. The study was part of broader COVID-19 mitigation strategies, including vaccination, to support the safe return of students to school.

Materials/Methods: The study aimed to determine whether providing free at-home COVID-19 rapid antigen testing kits produced equivalent participation in school screening testing compared with on-site school testing, to evaluate whether a family-based model of offering testing to family members enhanced participation, to assess program implementation to inform scale-up to additional schools, and to identify resources needed to ensure ongoing high participation rates.

Outcome/Impact: The intended outcome of the study was to identify effective, feasible, and sustainable COVID-19 testing strategies for middle school students and staff, with attention to equitable access for socioeconomically disadvantaged and minority populations, and to provide data to inform broader school-based mitigation efforts.