Dear L2R Friends and Partners,

Nearly two and half years ago I opened our first L2R newsletter with “Dear Colleagues” and today, as I introduce our final L2R newsletter, it feels more fitting to open with “friends and partners.” What started as a 13-district pilot has grown into a statewide program, reaching 837 public, private, charter, and tribal schools. Together, we’ve distributed over 7.3 million COVID-19 tests, $65M in direct funding to schools, and $5M in subgrants to community organizations. And, as of this communication, we have sent 90 newsletters, alerts, and eNews emails to you, our friends and partners.  

I am so proud of the work we have accomplished together and the close partnerships we’ve built over the past several years. As with the entire pandemic response, this work has been a rollercoaster. I know I speak for everyone at Health Commons Project when I say the best part has been meeting so many dedicated school leaders and staff. Your commitment to serving your school community inspired us to keep serving you as best we could through the hardest parts of the pandemic. We know the last three years have been difficult, but we sincerely hope that our partnership made your work a little easier.

Although the Learn to Return program is sunsetting, schools can still order free testing supplies through the Department of Health. We encourage you to subscribe to the new DOH K-12 Newsletter and reach out to your local ESD if you need any support maintaining your COVID-19 testing program.

The Health Commons Project (HCP) team is starting to focus on new school-based initiatives, especially related to addressing the youth mental health crisis. If you want to learn more about how HCP can support your school, reach out to me, Doaa, Erika, Michael, Ruaa or Samantha – you know we love hearing from you!

We asked our amazing program managers what the Learn to Return program has meant to them.

Here’s what they had to say.

The K-12 Health Notebook is a “right now, what’s next” newsletter to connect Washington’s schools to DOH information and resources. You can expect “notebook entries” quarterly, and more frequently when needed. 

The first edition is out now and includes information on:

• Children and Youth Activities Guide for Air Quality 
• Healthy Youth Survey 2023
• Medicaid/Apple Health coverage for your students

Today, we shine the light on Tiffany Morgan and the Black Women Housing Alliance (BWHA), an organization dedicated to promoting health and wellness while dismantling systemic racism.

In response to the ongoing pandemic, the BWHA launched the Be Well Campaign to educate and empower youth and their families to prevent the spread of COVID-19 through testing, vaccinations, and other essential hygiene practices. 

“It’s crucial to empower children and teach them how to have healthy conversations about their well-being. Many kids, and even adults, had misconceptions about COVID-19, thinking it was over or didn’t exist anymore. By working with children, we can change that narrative and promote resilience and open dialogue.”

– Tiffany Morgan, Founder and Executive Director of BWHA.

Free COVID-19 tests are not as easy to find these days. Since the end of the Public Health Emergency (PHE), most community sites have closed, insurance providers are no longer required to cover testing costs, and stock piles of free tests are starting to dwindle. As access to COVID-19 testing becomes more challenging, your school community may look to you for free tests to help manage family health throughout the fall and winter. 

Related: New COVID-19 Hospitalizations Increase as EG.5 Spreads

Our testing menu has changed a bit since last school year, but we still offer a range of high quality rapid antigen tests (including BD Triplex for flu and COVID-19) that can be administered at point-of-care (POC) with appropriate personnel or distributed for use at home. 

A note on expiration dates: Many rapid antigen tests continue to receive extended shelf-lives from the FDA. In our menu below, we show you how to check shelf-life extensions for each test. Schools should use the most up-to-date shelf-life extensions to determine whether or not their inventories are okay for use.

The authorization that allowed expired tests to be used if they pass quality control tests is no longer valid. All tests must be within the printed expiration date or FDA-approved expiration extension date to be used for school testing. 

We recommend replenishing stocks as needed to make sure you have enough tests on-hand for two months at a time. All tests and testing supplies that are expired beyond their extended shelf-lives can be thrown out with the regular garbage.