I live in NY in an area with high vax rate and very low positivity rate. My kids go to private school and even though it’s not required by the state everyone is wearing them indoors still. My kids do not care and will wear a mask with no issue. In the fall I’m assuming they will still require masks so my kids will wear them. I’m kind of jaded because my first grader caught Covid at school last winter masked and following all the rules. So masking didn’t make a difference for her.
Post by mccallister84 on Jul 13, 2021 18:34:22 GMT -5
I would be surprised if masks will be required here in the fall. I am unsure as to what we will have the girls do.
Today at VBS, DD1 coughed (twice according to the counselor and then not again so no one is very worried). The counselor said hey why don’t we put on a mask to make sure we aren’t spreading germs. She said sure and that was the end of that. I wish I could count on everyone else to be that sensible. I know kids can spread covid asymptotically, but think about how many more illnesses we could count down on if we all just followed this philosophy.
The reason I’m hesitant about having the girls mask in the fall if they are the only ones is that DD1(4) has a lot of anxiety and I don’t want to add mask anxiety to it - she won’t care if she’s the only one masked but I worry about her needing to keep track of it when she’s the only one doing so and therefore the teachers are less aware of telling her to put it in a specific spot, etc. and losing it and getting anxious about that but as I type this out that seems really dumb and I can probably just get her a lanyard.
I’m really pissed off that the school has put our family in this position. We will be masking our children in the fall and sending them to in-person school although our district will not be requiring masks.
We feel very lucky that we are even able to do this, as our kids have no underlying health conditions that put them at greater risk.
I’m just so mad. I don’t understand why they can’t just require masks until there is a vaccine - it’s so close!! It’s not fair to families who have already given up so much, to now have to give up yet another year of in-person school because of the health status of their kids.
I have no idea what will happen in upstate NY for school because we are only in the 3rd week of summer, but it sounds like for summer school they made it optional for teachers who are vaccinated which is confusing because we need to model what we want kids to do? Kids are still wearing them inside at summer school. Very few kids are wearing masks when I go places indoors and maybe 20% of adults? We don’t have that high of vaccination rates so……
I'd be surprised if they were not still required for younger kids here. The camps run by our county still require them. I've even seen outdoor camps with all the kids wearing masks. A lot of people in stores still wear masks too, even though they are not required if vaccinated.
Man I just can't wait for the kids vaccine to be ready. Hopefully just a few more months.
Masks were only required this past year in my district for grade 4 and up, so my son never wore one in the classroom unless he chose to do so (grade 1). He did wear one from the car to his classroom everyday, at my request. As far as I know (I'm staff at a different elem school, so I'm very in the loop) masks will not be required for anyone this coming year. I will not be asking my son to wear one.
We were the first province to send our kids back to school last June and have been very successful with fully in person school this year. I've questioned some of the decisions along the way, but in retrospect everything has been fine so I am trusting the powers that be to make solid decisions for the coming year.
I still wear one when in public despite being fully vaccinated. Our mask mandate was just lifted on July 1st, and I would say 80% of the people I see are still wear one. I'll reevaluate my personal status at work once the school year starts.
Thank you for this post. I’ve been struggling with this. My kids were virtual last year and we agreed to send them for testing at the end of the year. Right before their testing date, the school went mask optional. We still sent them for that day and plan to send next year because we have no other options without me quitting my job. I’ve been struggling with this because we while I know the chances of a bad outcome for kids is tiny, I really don’t want to be a vector. My whole goal has to been not to kill someone by spreading this mess.
We have been fairly locked down and the kids have done a few activities this summer—a camp that was supposed to be masked (my oldest son wore his but the other kids and teachers told him to take it off if he wanted and he says he didn’t—but he didn’t tell me until later because it was at my work) and VBS where they were put together as the only masked kids. They also stay together at kids church for the same reason. My oldest was kind to the kids who questioned/teased them and defended his brother, but that won’t happen at school. I think my oldest will mask but my youngest may take his off under pressure—and my youngest has the “risk factors” of the two.
My major worry is the amount of quarantining (or lack of) that will occur—so, basically, the unknown.
As we discussed with one of the only other families we knew who went virtual last year, our kids are getting a crash course in peer pressure and being true to their beliefs.
Post by redpenmama on Jul 13, 2021 21:49:17 GMT -5
We start school in 4 weeks and have received no guidance from our district. Summer school students are masked, so I expect that to be the case in the fall for the unvaccinated. I have elementary schoolers, so I assume they will start the year in masks and perhaps vaccinate themselves out of one at some point later in the fall.
Post by DarcyLongfellow on Jul 14, 2021 0:14:04 GMT -5
I'm in Florida, so I'm in the same boat as the OP. Our idiot governor has banned school districts from requiring masks, so masks will be optional this year. Our vaccination rate is pretty low, but everyone here is pretending Covid is 100% gone. I only rarely see masks in stores any more.
I don't know what I'll ask DD2 to do. She'll be 8 and in 3rd grade, so she can't be vaccinated. She was totally fine wearing a mask all of last year, and doesn't fight wearing one when we go out, so if I told her to wear one, she would. But chances are good that she would be the only kid wearing one.
Right now I feel like I might tell her to leave it off in her classroom, but wear it when she goes anywhere else on the building? Last year classes couldn't mix together, but I'm assuming that will go away this year. I felt like even with masks, she was probably pretty exposed to the other 17 kids in her class last year. If I could limit her exposure to just those kids, I'd probably feel okay about it.
I’m currently looking for data that suggests that masks really protect the wearer from Covid. If anyone sees anything, can you please post it? All I’m coming up with is the same, “You wear a mask for others, not for yourself” and “Reduces spread by catching droplets/particles (from the infected) from spreading as far.” And if that continues to be the case, there’s just really not much benefit to my kids being the only ones who wear masks in the classroom. They’d be taking the social/emotional hits without getting the protection from the virus. And until they’re vaccinated, School will be one of their only places with significant potential for exposure.
Post by dulcemariamar on Jul 14, 2021 0:53:23 GMT -5
My daughter will wear a mask in September because of the big surge of Delta cases in the area and because of lot people come back from holidays right before school starts.
Last year, masks were not required when sitting at your desk at the start of the school year. I asked my daughter to wear a mask the whole time and she was fine with it. The first few days she was the only one but other kids started to wear it more often so she didn’t feel weird about wearing a mask. Around Christmas there was a huge outbreak at school and I was happy she was wearing a mask. After the outbreak, masks became compulsory.
Anyway, I am worried about the Delta strain. I saw that recently several kids in Mississippi are in the ICU and some are on life support. I think we need to keep our guards up until kids are vaccinated.
Really? I’m in MA (just outside of Boston) and mask wearing inside is very common. All the summer camps/schools are requiring masks indoors still, too
I am in MA too. I see a lot of masks in public. Masks are required indoors at kids camps.
I would be shocked if school districts did not require masks for younger students.
I'm in Mass (10 minutes north of Boston) and hardly see any masks at stores, etc. Kids will wear them at indoor camps or the library but most don't wear there elsewhere. My kids are usually the only ones.
As a HS teacher I imagine they will be "required" for unvaxd students and staff.
If they are for required for elementary, my kids will wear one. I imagine DESE will say something in August.
Post by penguingrrl on Jul 14, 2021 5:40:37 GMT -5
Our district is saying masks will be optional. I’ve already been in touch with the school because my husband’s neurologist has already said our 8 year old cannot be indoors with anyone who is unvaccinated and not masked. There is no virtual option, so our district will have to find a way to keep him safe for H. With the delta variant flying around I’m a wreck about this.
My older two will both be fully vaccinated before school starts, so then wearing KN95s and kids unmasked around them is a tolerable level of risk, although with the delta variant causing more breakthroughs in a bit nervous.
A case entering our home could have devastating consequences for H.
No one is wearing masks in MA anymore in my area. I cannot see local districts trying to force kids to. From my understand the push is for schools and everything to full return to normal to appease people. Pandemic never happened is kinda the motto.
Really? I’m in MA (just outside of Boston) and mask wearing inside is very common. All the summer camps/schools are requiring masks indoors still, too
Same. I’m in Somerville and I still see lots of masks.
If masks are required come September then they'll of course wear them. I'm not sure what the situation will be for mask rules at that time. The provincial government has been erring on the side of caution from the beginning so it's hard to say when indoor mask mandates will be lifted.
Once mask mandates are removed, then I won't make the kids wear them and DH and I will also probably stop as well. In my province, we're at 82% of eligible people (12+) with 1 shot, all of whom will theoretically be fully vaxxed by late August, 100% of eligible elderly are vaxxed... so we're doing great on the herd immunity targets. So we'll just essentially do whatever public health recommends as they've done a great job so far managing the pandemic.
ETA: Last year before vaccinations started, kids in grades 3 and under didn't wear masks in class anyway, only on the bus and when moving through the hallways.
Post by expectantsteelerfan on Jul 14, 2021 7:21:51 GMT -5
I was SO disappointed when we got the email from our district that masks would be optional in the fall, even though other local districts had already published the same decision. I don't know why they even had to make the decision so soon, other than that people also had to decide if they were going in person or virtual and the mask decision for sure affected those decisions. But I am still holding out a sliver of hope that they will require or at least HEAVILY recommend schools with kids under 12 still mask.
DS will be vaccinated (gets his 2nd dose during the 1st week of school). I haven't decided yet if I'll try to make him wear a mask until 2 weeks after his 1st dose or not...he is not a rule follower, wears his mask incorrectly or takes it off when he's not supposed to, is much more susceptible to peer pressure, and is one of the youngest in his grade so would likely be the only one wearing one.
DD doesn't mind wearing masks, has never been made fun of for wearing one, and is a rule follower. Like, last year I would pick her up from dance, and she would get in the car and leave the mask on all the way home because she didn't think to take it off. So I will likely start her off wearing one. But I can still see if she is one of the only kids wearing one it becoming an issue and her not wanting to wear one, or like her forgetting one on day and then feeling like she doesn't need one after that, etc.
I feel like there should be another poll option... Masks are optional. I want my kid to wear one. But will he actually wear one? 🤷♀️
I think the other thing that's going to shake things up this year is before/after school care. We didn't have those options last year and will likely be taking advantage of at least aftercare. So that kind of multiplies the exposure to not just one school, but an an aftercare cohort that pulls in a couple schools I think?
Post by thebreakfastclub on Jul 14, 2021 7:53:23 GMT -5
My school is releasing the mask policy closer to the start of fall classes. So I need to see what they say first.
My son attends before and after care at a daycare, and they remain fully masked. The teachers and staff at school got priority vaccine status in Feb.
I feel cases were pretty low in his school before the vaccine. Even though cases are on the rise, my county is still at 25 cases a day.
Also I don't wear a mask in public because I am vaccinated, that's the point to me. It works, I trust it. My son wears his in public, about half the kids do.
I was really surprised and disappointed when my district announced early this summer that masks will not be required for students under 12.
I will ask DS to wear one, but I'm not convinced he will do it reliably. I will also try to get my 3 year old to wear one at preschool (at the elementary school) but that seems even less likely to stick.
lilac05 I have wondered that too. It seems like PPE was actually pretty protective for health care providers. But especially with removing masks for snack and lunch, and mistakes (masks slipping or the child forgetting to put it on), I don't have a lot of faith that it's going to prevent infection in the real world situation of a school with low mask compliance.
Came back to say that I am nervous about Delta and the rise in cases too. My friend’s pediatrician just said half of cases are kids and some are being hospitalized (rare but those like DS2 with pre-existing conditions). I just checked our weekly case data from yesterday and our rates have tripled this week (150 cases/day). It’s like COVID doesn’t exist here anymore…very few wearing masks in stores, etc. Very jealous of those that live where people are still being cautious! Hopefully they will enforce a mask policy (at least for those unvaccinated) until all kids can be vaccinated.
Really? I’m in MA (just outside of Boston) and mask wearing inside is very common. All the summer camps/schools are requiring masks indoors still, too
Same. I’m in Somerville and I still see lots of masks.
Also in MA and I feel like it depends on the place. Masks are still required at summer camp and daycare. When I pick DD1 up at summer camp, I do see a lot of masks on chins/under noses and no one seems to say anything. It sucks, especially since with the crappy weather they have been inside a lot. But at least they are required. We've taken the kids to 2 museums this summer and one had masks required for everyone (including adults, which I liked), the other was optional for adults but required for kids and I don't remember seeing any unmasked kids. Stores are where I see it about 50:50 on kids. My kids still wear masks anywhere inside. I don't always wear mine (since I'm vaxxed), it depends on how crowded it is and whether I'm feeling anxious about the Delta variant at the time (LOL sort of).
They haven't made an announcement on masks for our district yet (probably waiting for the state guidance). I really hope they keep the mask mandate for the elementary schools. No kids in that age group will be eligible for the vaccine when school starts, so I can't see how they could drop it. My teacher friend said they have already said school will be back to "normal" otherwise in the fall, but she hadn't heard anything about masking yet.
Post by steamboat185 on Jul 14, 2021 8:21:52 GMT -5
They haven’t announced the mask policy for next year, but I plan on having my 3rd grader and kindergarten wear masks. I’m sure some of the kids will be wearing them and they don’t mind.
Our superintendent in UT emailed in May that there would be no covid precautions come fall--no masks or distancing. We did (really awful) remote school that will be an option in the fall (it is always an option pandemic or not here); however, being new to an area and not meeting friends at school last year was very hard on my kids. We are sending them to in-person in the fall. Our delta cases are high and vaccine rates aren't great. Moving from a state with people following covid precautions to one where people act as if covid doesn't exist has been challenging! Our kids won't resist if we have them wear masks, but I'm unsure how protective masks would be in a classroom full of unmasked kids. Is it worth making my new kids be the masked kids?
Post by sunshine608 on Jul 14, 2021 8:53:54 GMT -5
The local district just said masks are required, so I'm pretty sure my kid's private school will follow. They will be sent wearing masks. What happens after that is going to be interesting, mainly in terms of teachers enforcing the masks and if teachers will wear them or face shields or anything. All the teachers are Vaxed and we finished last school year with zero cases so we shall see.
FL- masks are officially no longer mandatory in our district (a decision made when we were around 5% positivity- we're back up to 13% as of last week).
My rising 9th grader is vaccinated. He's in a 2 week Bio prequel course at his high school. I suspect that this group isn't a good representation of the general student population (kids who voluntarily take part in academic things over the summer break are probably a pretty biased set LOL), but most of them are wearing masks, and most of them are vaccinated. I actually had a big talk with him about trusting his vaccine and taking off the mask at times where he's comfortable (like outdoors) and he's working on it. He went maskless to his outdoor field trip Monday (aside from the bus rides). I do think he'll want to wear a mask indoors if things are still as bad (or worse) in the fall.
My rising 6th grader will be masked (she is completely on board) at least until she can be vaccinated- beginning in October (when she turns 12yo). By the time she's completed the 2 shot series, it will be smack into cold/flu season, so she'll likely wear one indoors until the spring, anyway.
I don't know yet, but I expect that all unvaccinated kids (which will mean all kids at the elementary level) will wear masks full time indoors, aside from eating. As of June, that was the rule although masks were not required outdoors. I expect my 1st grader will wear a mask all day until she's fully vaxxed, which I hope can happen this fall. She did it all year during K, and is doing it all summer at summer camp, so it will be normal for all of us.
Our district hasn’t announced yet. My older two are vaccinated already so I hope they don’t have to wear masks since they don’t really need to according to the guidance.
I also hope my youngest doesn’t need to wear a mask. He has ADHD and honestly masks were mostly just a distraction and problem last year for him. He struggles mightily in school as it is and doesn’t need an additional thing working against him. And also, i think it’s time to go back to normal and I’m not concerned in the least about kids and covid. Party because I know a lot of kids who have had covid (including my own DD1) over the past year and it was no worse than the flu for any of them. While I do understand that extremely rarely kids have problems, I also understand that it’s extremely rare and they can have extremely rare complications from a whole host of viruses and infections and yet I don’t spend that much mental energy worrying about those things. Also, none of those kids that I know who brought covid into their homes spread it to any of the other people in their homes, despite mostly no precautions being taken in any of those households to stop the spread in the house, which I find fascinating. The kids whose adults brought it into the house seemed to get it whereas when a kid brought it into the house it seemed not to spread. And that includes my 4 year old niece who was confirmed to have an asymptomatic case of a more infectious variant who did not spread it to her parents, grandparents or 7 year old diabetic sister.
I expect significant pushback if our district mandates masks and most surrounding districts have already said masks not to be required so I expect our district will follow suit.
Same. I’m in Somerville and I still see lots of masks.
Also in MA and I feel like it depends on the place. Masks are still required at summer camp and daycare. When I pick DD1 up at summer camp, I do see a lot of masks on chins/under noses and no one seems to say anything. It sucks, especially since with the crappy weather they have been inside a lot. But at least they are required. We've taken the kids to 2 museums this summer and one had masks required for everyone (including adults, which I liked), the other was optional for adults but required for kids and I don't remember seeing any unmasked kids. Stores are where I see it about 50:50 on kids. My kids still wear masks anywhere inside. I don't always wear mine (since I'm vaxxed), it depends on how crowded it is and whether I'm feeling anxious about the Delta variant at the time (LOL sort of).
They haven't made an announcement on masks for our district yet (probably waiting for the state guidance). I really hope they keep the mask mandate for the elementary schools. No kids in that age group will be eligible for the vaccine when school starts, so I can't see how they could drop it. My teacher friend said they have already said school will be back to "normal" otherwise in the fall, but she hadn't heard anything about masking yet.
Was on the north shore, South Shore, and Merrimack valley regions as recent as last week. If people were wearing masks it was children but inside or outside I saw so few masks that it stood out when you saw someone wearing one. Went to historic sites and art museums, stores, etc. Maybe it was just the heat that lowered mask wearing, but I can't imagine as a teacher even trying to fight the mask fight right now. Plus I'm hearing differing things in the news (one site reporting no deaths, another reporting deaths of vaccinated people). I'm still carrying hand sanitizer with me but that is nothing new.