COVID-19 info for district employees

Weekly testing will be done at Harriet Gibbons Student Services Center, 75 Watervliet Ave., according to the alphabetized table below. 

If you are unable to report to Harriet Gibbons during one of the testing windows on your assigned day, it is your responsibility to schedule a separate appointment with an outside testing agency/site before your next weekly test. Please register in advance of reporting for your first test using this link or the "register for testing" button above.

Regadless of which day you test, the available timeslots are the same:

7:30-9 a.m.   |   11 a.m.-1 p.m.   |   3-4 p.m. 

You can choose the time slot that is most convenient for you on the day you are required to report for testing each week.

If you are fully vaccinated and have not yet submitted your proof of vaccination to the Human Resources Division, you can opt out of mandatory weekly testing by submitting a copy of your vaccination card or confirmation of vaccination from your New York State Excelsior Pass app to Human Resources via the secured email address of benefits@albany.k12.ny.us. 

You also can choose to get your weekly COVID-19 test at any location that is convenient for you rather than reporting to Harriet Gibbons in one of the time slots on your assigned day.

If you do choose an external site for your weekly testing, you'll just need to provide proof of that result to Health Services Coordinator Suzanne McCarthy. You can drop it off in-person, or email it to  smccarthy@albany.k12.ny.us.

This mandatory testing is in alignment with the direction of the New York State Department of Health, as stated in the Commissioner’s Determination on COVID-19 Testing Pursuant to 10 NYCRR 2.62:

Testing Requirement for teachers and staff: P-12 schools are required to ensure teachers and staff … have testing performed for COVID-19 at least once per week when a school is in a geographic area identified by the CDC as having low, moderate, substantial, or high transmission rates. Teachers and staff may be permitted to opt-out of mandatory weekly screening testing if they provide documentation of being fully vaccinated against COVID-19, as set forth in 10 NYCRR 2.62. Teachers and staff who work at multiple schools do not need to receive multiple tests; they may use one weekly test result to demonstrate to any number of schools where they work that they have fulfilled this requirement.

In addition to registering using the link below, please be sure to schedule an appointment with Melissa McConnell at mmcconnell@albany.k12.ny.us or (518) 475-6130.

The CDC list of COVID-19 symptoms includes:

• Fever or chills
• Cough
• Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
• Fatigue
• Muscle or body aches
• Headache
• New loss of taste or smell
• Sore throat
• Congestion or runny nose
• Nausea or vomiting
• Diarrhea

Employees who exhibit symptoms while at work are required to reach out to their building supervisor as soon as they are aware. The school nurse and supervisor will speak with the employee to validate the concern and determine if there are any immediate exposures at the work location.

Employees that are sent home must enter all subsequent days of absence in the district’s Absence Management system. Human Resources will additionally monitor employees who are directed to stay home so they are credited with appropriate leave time (i.e., sick leave or New York State Paid Leave for COVID-19). 

Employees with a Department of Health or other governmental quarantine notice should contact Human Resources via the secured email address of benefits@albany.k12.ny.us to determine if any of those days could be reimbursed.

If we receive notification of a positive or potential case, the district will collaborate with the county health department in the following process (in cases in which the health department notifies the district of a suspected or confirmed case, this process will begin at #4.):

1. Immediately isolate the employee and send them home.
2. As noted above, employees must enter all subsequent days of absence in the district’s Absence Management system. Human Resources will assist employees in accounting for their time appropriately.
3. Alert the county health department.
4. Coordinate with the county health department on contact tracing. Based on health department guidance, an interview will be conducted with the person demonstrating symptoms and/or testing positive in order to gather contact information and send the information to the health department.
5. Based on health department guidance, affected individuals and those that are considered contacts will be notified and informed that they should begin quarantine, if necessary, while waiting for further instructions from the health department.
6. The district will follow county health department guidance regarding the appropriate notification to the impacted school or building. The purpose of the notification is to inform the impacted school or building community of a positive case of COVID-19 and the next steps.
7. The district will arrange for deep cleaning and disinfection of all the involved spaces.