APS mask policy

[Anonymous]

Agree with PP there seem to be more eschewing masks among the younger grades. Probably less social pressure either way. I even saw some families at pickup yesterday where one kid had a mask on and one didn't.

I didn't ask either of my kids (one in ES and one in MS) about masking rates in their classes b/c I don't want to over-emphasize the issue and we already discussed that it's a personal choice and they shouldn't question or judge anyone else on the issue.

[Anonymous]

My 1st grader told me that 12 people started the day with no mask and everyone but 3 took their mask off in music class. Based on the somewhat frazzled (but professional!) email sent by their teacher last night, it sounds like the main issue was kids taking their masks on and off all day and using them as toys or projectiles.

[Anonymous]

I'm wary of the posts that detail who is and isn't wearing masks at school. Let's not focus on individuals--at the end of the day, we do not know their specific circumstances.

The reality is that public health guidelines have changed. If you do not agree with these changes, you need to hold public officials and leaders accountable, not individual children.

Instead of fighting over masks, what can we do to protect our community right now? Make sure your kids are not going to school with any symptoms of illness. That is the best way to protect our vulnerable students and teachers. Also, make sure your family members are vaccinated and boosted.

Show your children how to be cautious but not fearful. Please keep in mind that anxiety disorders are just as real as covid. Let's be more gentle with each other.

[Anonymous]

So is Joe Biden now considered an anti-masker????

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Masks are not really appropriate for young children, it impedes phonics and learning to read. My kid is in kindergarten and his teacher has point blank said this. She said that they’ve had to really lower expectations this year because it’s much harder for her to tell “who knows what” since she can’t see their mouths during circle time. It’s better than virtual school, but it’s far from ideal. I think that if you want to keep masking outside of school, and if you want to mandate masks for older kids great. But kids first grade and younger should not be masked.

If this is your position, please remember that children in 2nd and 3rd grade now were in K and 1st grade when covid started, and also missed in person or unmasked phonics instruction. I have a 2nd grader and an older child and there is a big hole that some of these kids need to dig out of. The difference in reading and phonics instruction/ability, the difference in what 2nd graders are working on now vs. 2 years ago, is stark.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So is Joe Biden now considered an anti-masker????

#followthescience

[Anonymous]

Why are we still arguing this. Kids can unmask now. We aren't going back. Not sure what the point is of continuing to argue.

For what it is worth. I volunteered at our school this morning. I greeted students so I saw pretty much saw everyone and probably saw under 10 kids unmasked (this is ES).

[Anonymous]

If we're marching into WWWIII, I want my kids to breathe some of that free, clean air while they can.

Seriously though, I think that the masks are a gradual fade over the next couple of months to a small minority of kids who continue on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If we're marching into WWWIII, I want my kids to breathe some of that free, clean air while they can.

Seriously though, I think that the masks are a gradual fade over the next couple of months to a small minority of kids who continue on.

Agreed this is totally what will happen. By May, they'll be worn by a small minority. In the future, they will always be optional and in an area like ours, during surges probably a lot of people will choose to wear them again and we now all have experience wearing higher quality masks and many will likely wear those. And is that such a bad ending? I can live with that.

I don't understand the hysteria around this topic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I work. What’s wrong with the people who who are calling keeping a kid home when they are sick self sacrificing or assuming I don’t work. This is normal behavior and what you are supposed to do. What are YOU doing when your kid is sick, if this is remarkable to you???

I also hope this is over.

I’m guessing most responses are for sport rather.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why are we still arguing this. Kids can unmask now. We aren't going back. Not sure what the point is of continuing to argue.

For what it is worth. I volunteered at our school this morning. I greeted students so I saw pretty much saw everyone and probably saw under 10 kids unmasked (this is ES).

Interesting, I saw the opposite at our N. Arl school. Less than a handful (including my child) were masked in their class. School dynamics by location are certainly interesting!

I don't understand the shaming of people who continue to mask. It's almost as if some of these parents are don't know where to focus their energy now that kids are in school, in person, unmasked. They've been raging for so long they can't appreciate where we are now.

For our family, we need to wait and see a bit. Our child has epilepsy and it can be triggered by illness. There's not enough known about how COVID would trigger their seizures yet so we're being careful because we can. We know how flu, strep, etc trigger/don't trigger because there's been decades of research. That being said, we're happy for the other kids who can shed the mask.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Ok. But at what point will you unmask then? Never? If the CDC says, as it does now, that places like Arlington and DC don’t need to mask, what will convince you?

I am tired of COVID but I am even more tired of dealing with people who think "Never?" is even close to a reasonable guess.

I care about the spread and would like it to be lower -- if masking had continued until the end of March instead of the beginning, I think we might have gotten there.

I care about vaccination rates, and I am bummed that they stalled out.

I care about effective treatments, and I wish we had one.

I care about air quality, and I wish APS had done more on that front.

I don't know when my family will stop masking, because I don't know what is going to happen over the next few weeks. If rates stay low, I'll talk to my kids about whether they think unmasking at school is OK.

[Anonymous]

Yay. More positive case emails from school. 😕 it’s going to be interesting the next few weeks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why are we still arguing this. Kids can unmask now. We aren't going back. Not sure what the point is of continuing to argue.

For what it is worth. I volunteered at our school this morning. I greeted students so I saw pretty much saw everyone and probably saw under 10 kids unmasked (this is ES).

Interesting, I saw the opposite at our N. Arl school. Less than a handful (including my child) were masked in their class. School dynamics by location are certainly interesting!

I don't understand the shaming of people who continue to mask. It's almost as if some of these parents are don't know where to focus their energy now that kids are in school, in person, unmasked. They've been raging for so long they can't appreciate where we are now.

For our family, we need to wait and see a bit. Our child has epilepsy and it can be triggered by illness. There's not enough known about how COVID would trigger their seizures yet so we're being careful because we can. We know how flu, strep, etc trigger/don't trigger because there's been decades of research. That being said, we're happy for the other kids who can shed the mask.

PP here - This is S. Arlington, mostly child of color and in the zip code that has been hardest hit by covid. I would imagine that is the reason for the difference.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yay. More positive case emails from school. 😕 it’s going to be interesting the next few weeks.

What will happen is you will continue to get some notifications and Omicron will continue to trickle down and at some point we will be back at a new lower level of cases until the next variant. This is what happened and is happening in all the parts of the country and parts of Europe where the surge came and went and the whole time kids were unmasked.

I am not anti-masking at all and think it serves its purpose during surges (mostly as a tool for individuals to control their own risk exposure, as needed and wanted) and will put mine back on during a surge and my kids will too. But to suggest there will be some surge in cases in the next few weeks is giving yourself and the rest of us too much credit.