Voluntary masking starts Monday within Keystone Central School District
BALD EAGLE TOWNSHIP, PA – When school starts Monday in the Keystone Central School District, mask wearing by students will be voluntary. That word came Sunday afternoon in a post from Superintendent Jacquelyn Martin; it follows the recent decision by the state Supreme Court to toss out state government’s public school masking mandate.
The superintendent’s message encourages “everyone” to continue to wear a mask indoors, especially if within 3-feet of one-another. She notes that masking on school buses must continue, in line with a federal regulation.
She writes that the district COVID mitigation efforts have been successful to this point, stating any school-based outbreaks have been contained and “much lower than the spread in the community.”
Superintendent Martin’s message to the district community:
December 12, 2021
Dear KCSD Staff and Families,
The universal masking order for K-12 Pennsylvania schools has been lifted by action of the PA Supreme Court. The KCSD Health and Safety Plan will continue to be implemented across all schools. Our board approved plan includes voluntary masking unless there are state or federal mandates. Masking on school buses is covered by a federal regulation and is still required.
Even though the state level masking order has been lifted, COVID-19 is still considered to be a significant health risk to many. I am encouraging everyone to continue to wear a mask indoors, especially when you are within 3 feet of others. If you wish for your child to wear a mask at school, please inform your child’s teachers so that they can support your request during the school day. We will continue to conduct contact tracing for known positive cases and enforce quarantine protocols. Wearing a mask while in close contact will help to limit the number of students and staff who will need to quarantine and be excluded from attending school in person.
According to the CDC website, “vaccination is the leading public health prevention strategy to end the COVID-19 pandemic. People who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 are at low risk of symptomatic or severe infection. A growing body of evidence suggests that people who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 are less likely to become infected and develop symptoms and are at substantially reduced risk from severe illness and death from COVID-19 compared with unvaccinated people”. Please review reliable sources of information on vaccinations and consult with your physician to determine if vaccinations are recommended for any members of your family. More information can be found here:
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/index.html
Our mitigation efforts have been successful in our schools thus far as our school based outbreaks have been contained and much lower than the spread in the community. If this changes, universal masking may be required again. We will continue to maintain seating charts and keep students 3-6 feet apart when possible along with providing proper ventilation, cleaning, and sanitization in our buildings. Promote handwashing and proper respiratory etiquette at home and school.
We urge our families to keep children at home when they are sick. Students may be sent home by the school nurse if they are exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19. I monitor our case counts daily with our administrative team. If COVID-19 cases reach a level of 5% within a school, families should know that we may be required to close our schools or move to full remote learning at a moment’s notice. If we do not have adequate staffing, we also may have to close our schools or move to fully remote learning.
Let’s continue to work together and make good choices to keep schools open and everyone safe.
Dr. Jacquelyn Martin
Superintendent
