Masks required indoors as students, teachers and staff head back to school

The school community was hopeful that when they returned to school this fall masks would not be required in SVVSD schools. As it turns out, that won't be the case.

Following guidance from Boulder County Public Health through Public Health Order 2021-07, the St. Vrain Valley School District (SVVSD) is requiring masking for all students, faculty and staff in grades PK-12 while indoors.

The school district did not provide a direct response to the Courier's questions about the decision. Instead, they referred to an official email to parents from District Superintendent Don Haddad sent on August 9, which read, "While I have received significant and conflicting opinions from our community regarding whether masks should be required, we must adhere to this order from our local health department."
The letter went on to advise that the district is encouraging teachers and staff to provide as many outdoor learning and movement break experiences as possible.

In a final measure to provide flexibility, the school is also providing a mask exemption option for families that don't feel it is in the best interest of their student. The forms are to be returned to the principal of the school where the student is in attendance. As of the end of the same week when mask requirements were announced, school district spokesperson Kerri McDermid said that numbers of families who are requesting exemptions was less than one percent of the student population.

Boulder County has made its decision based on a number of factors. These include information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Academy of Pediatrics that recommends those in schools mask up while indoors. In addition, children younger than 12 are ineligible for the vaccine and are more susceptible to COVID-19 and its highly-contagious Delta Variant.
The Public Health Department is also requiring contact tracing and isolation protocols for those who are diagnosed with COVID-19.The school district has indicated that engaging in masking indoors will hopefully help to minimize the need for quarantines that can disrupt learning.

When asked, officials at the two local schools which are within SVVSD boundaries, Niwot Elementary and Niwot High School, did not provide individualized comments on the new mandate but noted that the situation has challenges.

However, throughout the district and the state, some parents are expressing their disappointment at the policy. At the same time that many of them are happy about students returning to full-time, in-person learning, they are frustrated at the need to wear masks during school hours.

When asked about the need to wear masks, Niwot High School Sophmore Jeremy Linderman said that he was glad to be returning to school and that "I think we should wear masks until there's a booster for Covid so we can help stop the spread of the new variant.

Dissatisfaction in some members of the public has also been evident in numerous social media postings and in online groups developed to organize a response to the policy. The SVVSD Awareness Alliance even promoted a petition titled "Optional Face Masks: Let Parents Make the Decision."

Alliance member Allison Stransky posted some thoughts in order to encourage members to speak consistently at meetings. She said, "If not now, when? When and how will you determine that parents can be trusted again? Masking cannot be forever and we need to see a clear and consistent metric put in place to allow parents back into the role of making the best choices for their children."
Many of the posters in the group indicated they were considering placements at area charter schools and were questioning if these schools were also going to require masks.

In addition to speaking out online, a number of these dissatisfied families attended and spoke at a school district board meeting held the day after the decision had been announced. In response to their feedback, Superintendent Hadad called for unity among parents and for them to support efforts for allowing their children to learn, regardless of the circumstances. He reiterated a desire to keep children in school and a requirement to follow county health priorities.
Regardless of the community's feeling about masking, it is clear that most students will be doing so as they walk through school halls next week. Over time, it will become clear how long masking will need to continue and if it will contribute to fewer covid cases, or quarantines that disrupt learning.