How many schools still have indoor mask requirements?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:News article on the topic:

https://reason.com/2022/04/06/mask-mandates-kids-dc-charter-schools-covid-19/

Who wrote this trash? It’s awful. I think masks should be optional, but this thing is embarrassing. I also appreciate how it talks about charter but in the last paragraph mentions teachers unions and how they want masks.

I feel very strongly that mask mandates in schools need to be lifted and must never return, and I agree. The author is clearly confused about DCPS vs. charters with regard to the mandate (no, Thomas Elementary, a DCPS, doesn't have a mask mandate anymore, the kids there apparently choose to mask or are receiving pressure from either parents or teachers to do so), and he also uses this issue as an opportunity to tout the "school choice" agenda (I guess to be expected in a libertarian outlet). It's poorly written and won't help our cause.

The whole first few paragraphs explain that DCPS dropped masks but ask whether in practice they're still being required in some DCPS schools. That's a totally reasonable question. You would only think that by 'mandate' the author meant 'centralized rule' and not 'de facto thing that gets enforced' if you were reading that sentence in isolation.

I know he is not talking about a centralized rule. But his speculation about the school-wide enforcement of mask mandates at individual DCPS schools is just that - speculation without any evidence. Thomas Elementary is his only DCPS example of a school where the kids were observed to all keep their masks on (in the one class that VP Harris visited). After reporting that Thomas did not respond to a request for comment, he goes on to declare that Thomas Elementary "would hardly be alone" in keeping the mask mandate in place, and then talks only about charters, which are in an entirely different situation because unlike DCPS they actually can make up their own rules. DCPS, on the other hand, does have a centralized rule, and it is highly unlikely that any of them would still be enforcing a school-wide mask mandate. They may have individual teachers who pressure students, but they cannot "keep a mask mandate in place" and "require masks", as the author speculates.

It's not the same and that's clear contextually. But I don't know why you would think that a school couldn't in practice require masks. Not every school has a parent population where someone is guaranteed to call a lawyer if that kind of thing were happening. (And many of the parents may themselves support it.)

No, it's poorly written. It's only clear contextually to those who already know. So yes, it was clear to me, but it is still a poorly constructed argument. Sorry, I have graded too many college essays not to see that.

And maybe a DCPS principal could get away with still requiring masks, who knows. I personally doubt they would try though, given the plethora of lawyers in DC, and the article certainly doesn't make a case that it's happening. I can see individual teachers do it though (and Thomas Elementary does happen to have one who might try - remember her from the FB group?).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do these people just want kids to mask forever? Life with coronavirus is not going to be all that different a year from now, two years from now, five years from now. Coronavirus will be with us forever. The only thing that will change is people will stop caring.

This!

[Anonymous]

When you read an article like this that screws up basic facts about a subject you know really well, please remember that ever article is about a subject that someone out there knows really well and they spot all the same screwups.

[Anonymous]

At least one of the parents is blatantly lying in the Reason article. MV’s leadership specifically stated that parents and staff had similar support for continuing to mask. But I suppose it’s more fun to give an anti-teacher soundbyte.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At least one of the parents is blatantly lying in the Reason article. MV’s leadership specifically stated that parents and staff had similar support for continuing to mask. But I suppose it’s more fun to give an anti-teacher soundbyte.

Isn’t MV not lifting their mask mandate until like the first week of May, and maybe not then?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At least one of the parents is blatantly lying in the Reason article. MV’s leadership specifically stated that parents and staff had similar support for continuing to mask. But I suppose it’s more fun to give an anti-teacher soundbyte.

Isn’t MV not lifting their mask mandate until like the first week of May, and maybe not then?

The latest schoolwide communication is word salad, at best: https://www.mundoverdepcs.org/sy2122-school-communications

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At least one of the parents is blatantly lying in the Reason article. MV’s leadership specifically stated that parents and staff had similar support for continuing to mask. But I suppose it’s more fun to give an anti-teacher soundbyte.

Isn’t MV not lifting their mask mandate until like the first week of May, and maybe not then?

The latest schoolwide communication is word salad, at best: https://www.mundoverdepcs.org/sy2122-school-communications

That is the worst survey question I've ever seen. The choice given is masks vs. distancing! If you want neither (or if you want both), there's no answer for you. All you have here is a ranking of two preferences in a space where what most schools are doing is not even listed!

[Anonymous]

"And as indicated by the level of responses noted above, masking matters to people – regardless of how knowledgeable any of us may be about filtration efficiencies, virus transmission vectors, or public health risk assessment methodologies."


They've been crate-trained.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"And as indicated by the level of responses noted above, masking matters to people – regardless of how knowledgeable any of us may be about filtration efficiencies, virus transmission vectors, or public health risk assessment methodologies."


They've been crate-trained.

Well, looks like the charters are just ready to completely abandon the advice of expertise, because FEELINGS.

I guess they've always behaved like little cults, so it's not surprising.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At least one of the parents is blatantly lying in the Reason article. MV’s leadership specifically stated that parents and staff had similar support for continuing to mask. But I suppose it’s more fun to give an anti-teacher soundbyte.

Isn’t MV not lifting their mask mandate until like the first week of May, and maybe not then?

The latest schoolwide communication is word salad, at best: https://www.mundoverdepcs.org/sy2122-school-communications

Oh my god. It's like a graduate student (in his first year) got the chance to write a blog and his advisor forgot to edit it. That this is a schoolwide communication is truly something else.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At least one of the parents is blatantly lying in the Reason article. MV’s leadership specifically stated that parents and staff had similar support for continuing to mask. But I suppose it’s more fun to give an anti-teacher soundbyte.

Isn’t MV not lifting their mask mandate until like the first week of May, and maybe not then?

The parent along with others in the article told the writer that "the strict policies largely reflect the preferences of the staff rather than the parents." This isn't the clearly isn't the case at MV (see the survey results above), and accordingly, I have my doubts at the other schools.

I thought MV's rationale was well articulated to parents. They cited increasing cases at MV, the known impact of covid-19 vs. the unknown impact of masking, the physical challenge of implementing social distancing, 40% still unvaccinated, and not wanting to place all the burden and risk on vulnerable students and staff.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/16MrT6EAX6k4EW6uCsdts9t7WcoWn_gq-/view

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At least one of the parents is blatantly lying in the Reason article. MV’s leadership specifically stated that parents and staff had similar support for continuing to mask. But I suppose it’s more fun to give an anti-teacher soundbyte.

Isn’t MV not lifting their mask mandate until like the first week of May, and maybe not then?

The latest schoolwide communication is word salad, at best: https://www.mundoverdepcs.org/sy2122-school-communications

Oh my god. It's like a graduate student (in his first year) got the chance to write a blog and his advisor forgot to edit it. That this is a schoolwide communication is truly something else.

Truly embarrassing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At least one of the parents is blatantly lying in the Reason article. MV’s leadership specifically stated that parents and staff had similar support for continuing to mask. But I suppose it’s more fun to give an anti-teacher soundbyte.

Isn’t MV not lifting their mask mandate until like the first week of May, and maybe not then?

The latest schoolwide communication is word salad, at best: https://www.mundoverdepcs.org/sy2122-school-communications

Oh my god. It's like a graduate student (in his first year) got the chance to write a blog and his advisor forgot to edit it. That this is a schoolwide communication is truly something else.

Truly embarrassing.

Who goes into school administration? I feel like it's a widespread problem where they are generally disorganized people who aren't even good at management.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At least one of the parents is blatantly lying in the Reason article. MV’s leadership specifically stated that parents and staff had similar support for continuing to mask. But I suppose it’s more fun to give an anti-teacher soundbyte.

Isn’t MV not lifting their mask mandate until like the first week of May, and maybe not then?

The parent along with others in the article told the writer that "the strict policies largely reflect the preferences of the staff rather than the parents." This isn't the clearly isn't the case at MV (see the survey results above), and accordingly, I have my doubts at the other schools.

I thought MV's rationale was well articulated to parents. They cited increasing cases at MV, the known impact of covid-19 vs. the unknown impact of masking, the physical challenge of implementing social distancing, 40% still unvaccinated, and not wanting to place all the burden and risk on vulnerable students and staff.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/16MrT6EAX6k4EW6uCsdts9t7WcoWn_gq-/view

The survey results clearly show that there isn't a strong majority of either staff or students that want to continue to mask. As a teacher in a school division that has been mask optional for more than a month, I feel for those staff members who are forced to wear masks when they don't want to. Teaching with a mask on is the worst. People who want to continue to mask can use a high quality mask. It really isn't a big deal. I would say 3/4 of our staff have chosen to ditch the masks and about the same number of students, but no one cares if someone chooses to mask.

[Anonymous]

My school is mask optional but 85%-90% of students & staff still mask and we are prek3- 5th grade.