SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC NEWS) — Starting this week, thousands of students that fall within the yellow zone in Onondaga County will be tested for COVID-19, including districts in Liverpool, Syracuse, Minoa and parts of Baldwinsville.
However, before each child is tested, districts must get consent from the students’ parents. Sarah Dwyer, a mother of two kids who attend Word of Life Christian Academy in Baldwinsville, decided to only consent for one of her kids.
“I chose to have my kindergartener do it, but not my second grader,” Dwyer said. “He’s one that has a little bit more anxiety about this, more understanding.”
Although World of Life is a private school in the area, it still falls within Onondaga County’s yellow zone, which is stressful for Dwyer given the new testing requirements.
“You want to give these kids some normalcy, which is hard nowadays. A lot of these kids have heightened anxiety,” Dwyer said. “So now you are trying to keep them in school, which means you have to get them tested, but that’s putting more pressure on them.”
†However, Dwyer would rather comply with the new testing requirement than resort to remote learning again – something that her kids struggled a lot within the spring.
“I’d rather have them tested and push their limits and keep them in school versus pulling them out, because spring was really, really hard on them and not seeing friends,” Dwyer said.
So far, World of Life has met the original testing requirement put forth by New York State. As of Monday, the state is planning on relaxing the testing requirement if the number of cases continues to decline. Despite the recent spike in cases, Dwyer still stands by her decision to send her kids to school.
“I’m really comfortable sending them based on my own research,” Dwyer said.
With no positive cases at World of Life, things are looking good within the yellow zone.
