When should DC drop its school mask mandate?

[Anonymous]

+10000.

[Anonymous]

I just posted this in another thread but did DC not make vaccines mandatory for age eligible kids starting in 22/23? At public and private?

[Anonymous]

END MASK MANDATES NOW!!!!!!!!!!!

[Anonymous]

The right answer is it should be dropped end of February. If you really wanted to be conservative, mid-March to let parents vaccinate any unvaccinated kids before it is dropped. Cases should be below 20/100,000 by later this week or early ext and the broader DC mask mandate is currently set to expire end of February.

What will actually happen:
It won't be dropped. They will just run out the clock on this school year and then another variant will come back around next fall and it will be masks back on again.

[Anonymous]

Today! Get rid of the mask mandates today, immediately. DC daily stats are very low. If someone wants to continue to mask up go ahead, no one will stop you or your child.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Today! Get rid of the mask mandates today, immediately. DC daily stats are very low. If someone wants to continue to mask up go ahead, no one will stop you or your child.

Except that the daily stats are not actually very low. They’ve actually plateaued high.

You can’t just make up facts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Today! Get rid of the mask mandates today, immediately. DC daily stats are very low. If someone wants to continue to mask up go ahead, no one will stop you or your child.

Except that the daily stats are not actually very low. They’ve actually plateaued high.

You can’t just make up facts.

Nor can you (make up daily stats). Check https://coronavirus.dc.gov/key-metrics

[Anonymous]

I think 2 weeks post winter break is reasonable. Reality is that it will most likely continue for some amount of time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m sure DC will be among the last to drop so I’m not holding my breath. At most, I think we might see dropping it for outdoor activities / drop off/ pick up as that’s really just COVID theatre.

I've not worn a mask at drop off or pickup in months, and no one seems to care. I'm not the only one, either.

[Anonymous]

This doesn’t need to be overthought.

If everyone believes in science, and you’re fully vaccinated, plus you’re boosted, then there’s no need for a mask.

If you want to wear one, fine. Otherwise, trust the vaccine and let it do its work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think we should band together as ECE parents and ask:

1) Drop the mask mandate for this age group when cases are low
2) No outdoor mask requirement at all (not for kids during recess, not for parents during drop off)
3) The only masks that will ever be required ar K95s, and the school will provide these when they are needed during a surge in cases

The masks are a joke for this age group anyway. They take them off for snacks, lunch, and rest time. Many kids are wearing cloth or surgical masks that don't fit, and they slip off or the kids are messing with them or they get wet and become useless. Teachers are having to spend a lot of time monitoring mask use, making sure kids don't lose them, checking on mask fit, etc. And is it really protecting anyone? Given the level of mask use I see in my kid's PK class, and the number of non-Covid viruses that have swept through the class throughout the year -- no.

Kids can't hear each other, and the teachers can't hear them. There is a cost, and it gets higher the longer it goes on.

I'd like to see us go mask optional by April, by fall at the very very latest. I actually think many teachers would be on board with this based on conversations with my kid's teacher.

I think we need to get noisy and ask for a reasonable policy that actually reflects how children this age wear masks, what their actual Covid risk is (very low) and what the experience of kids in this district have been in terms of Covid spread (any of your kids have any Covid spread in your classroom? We have not and there have been kids with Covid in our class, as well as kids with sibling with Covid).

Not just ECE. Why not vaccinated kids before ECE?

[Anonymous]

Bowser just can’t continue to hold everyone hostage. I know her power is limited, but making rash decisions and playing politics with everyone’s safety and comfort is wearing thin (much like these masks).

[Anonymous]

mom and teacher here. masks are NBD. at all. the people who care so much about masks are not the kids at school.

[Anonymous]

I’m a teacher. I don’t wear a mask. My kids are fine. I’m as Left as they come and would vote for every Democrat from here to California if I could. It’s getting ridiculous.

One of my students couldn’t even get breakfast because he was late to school dropping off his little brother. He went to a 7-11 for a honey bun and was told he was a “hoodlum” for not wearing his mask and he forgot to photograph is vaccination card on his phone. He’s 12.

I agree with the other posters.

#nomoremasks

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:mom and teacher here. masks are NBD. at all. the people who care so much about masks are not the kids at school.

Masks are big deals for kids that are in speech therapy and need to see mouth and tongue placement.