The Fox C-6 School District has expanded its face-mask requirements for students and staff in an effort to curb the spread of COVID-19.
Superintendent Nisha Patel announced at a Board of Education meeting on Tuesday night (Aug. 25) that all students and staff will be required to wear masks in situations when social distancing is not possible.
Previously, the district’s policy called for teachers and students in fourth grade through 12th grade to wear masks when social distancing was not an option, but the policy allowed teachers to decide when students in kindergarten through third grade needed to wear masks.
Now, however, all students, regardless of the grade they're in, must wear masks when they can’t stay a safe distance from others.
Students are scheduled to report for their first day of the 2020-2021 school year on Thursday (Aug. 27).
Patel told school board members during their Tuesday meeting, which was held through the Zoom video-conferencing app, that one reason for the change is the current rate of positive COVID-19 cases in Jefferson County.
The Jefferson County Health Department reported 47 new cases on Tuesday and 322 cases over the previous week. The Health Department also has the county categorized in its second highest tier of its four-color system that warns residents about the level of threat to the community from COVID-19 and the preventive steps needed to limit the spread the virus.
The county currently is at the orange stage, which indicates substantial but controlled transmission of the virus in the county. It means the county is seeing 10 to 24 new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people per day and health officials advise residents to follow the recommended steps to curb the spread of the virus.
“That is us doing our part. If we want to have kids back in school and want to stay in school, we are going to have to do that,” Patel said of expanding the face-covering requirements.
Since the district will require masks to be worn, teachers plan to hold more breaks during the day to allow students to be in situations when masks are not required.
“We will go outside, if we can,” Patel said. “Whatever we can do to make sure (wearing a mask) is not continuous all day. I don’t want parents to feel that is what it is going to be like, because it is not. We will have breaks (from wearing a mask).”
Fox will begin the school year with about 80 percent of its students enrolled in a hybrid schedule. About half of those students will attend class in person on Mondays and Tuesdays and the other half on Thursdays and Fridays. The district will use Wednesday as an all virtual learning day for students and teachers.
About 20 percent of the student population is enrolled in the district’s Virtual Academy, which means they will do all their learning online at home.
