Durango School District 9-R students headed back to the classroom on Tuesday with the option, not a mandate, of wearing masks.
The school board voted last week to make masks optional for students after adopting masking as part of the district’s dress code policy in August to protect against potential COVID-19 outbreaks.
The district emphasized that masks are optional, and it will not tolerate any bullying of students who choose to continue wearing masks.
“We want to emphasize that we are still mask-friendly,” said Superintendent Karen Cheser.
The mask policy update says the school district strongly recommends students and faculty continue to wear masks.
It’s important to note that there are still mask guidelines students must follow. For example, if a student tests positive for COVID-19 and self-isolates for six days he or she may return to class only if he or she wears a well-fitting mask for the next five days.
Additionally, anyone with symptoms who visits the health services office at any of the district’s schools must wear a mask. Cheser said masks will be provided at those offices in those scenarios.
If significant outbreaks in schools or classrooms occur, mask policies may return.
“You never know about new variants that could cause an outbreak,” Cheser said.
Students were given a three-day weekend so that 9-R teachers could have a scheduled work day.
Alongside the change in mask policy, the district has also made some changes to how it will communicate with school-related communities about COVID-19. The new policy update says the district will no longer notify students, staff members, or parents and guardians about positive or symptomatic cases.
However, in the event of outbreaks or clusters of cases in a particular school, families will be notified about next steps.
The school district will also be changing social distancing policies by returning to traditional spacing in the school setting.
9-R students are still required to wear masks on buses. The federal mandate from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention requiring masks on public transportation, which included school buses, was lifted on Friday.
Cheser said a discussion about changing mask policies on school buses will be happening early this week.
“We’ll talk about that with our team,” she said. “We’re not sure about that yet because it just changed.”
Throughout the pandemic, the district has worked closely with San Juan Basin Public Health and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment to help create policies aimed at keeping students safe and schools open.
“Close adherence to the guidance allowed 9-R schools to remain open for in-person learning, which we know provides the best opportunities for students to learn and thrive,” said SJBPH Executive Director Liane Jollon in response to the school board changing mask policies.
“None of this has been easy, and we recognize the tremendous resilience of educators and students in our community,” she said. “Of course, SJBPH will continue working closely with 9-R staff, as we have for two years, on limiting infection and preserving health, safety and in-person learning.”
njohnson@durangoherald.com
