Will Masks be Optional at School?

Since we went back into in-person learning in February of 2021, we have been required to wear masks under Governor Ralph Northam’s mandates. On Saturday, the 15th of January, 2022, new Governor Youngkin  implemented new rules almost immediately. In his inauguration speech he discussed his plans with Covid’19 and mask mandates throughout the state. Youngkin has said, “Children in Virginia wear masks virtually every moment they are in school, which have proven ineffective and impractical.” It’s sad to think our government has got to a place they believe masks are infective for students. We are surrounded by a pandemic that is continuing to grow when we thought we would have it under control by now.

The Pandemic is continuing to grow at a rapid rate thanks to the rise of the of the Omicron variant. However, our newly sworn-in Governor has decided that it should be the parents’ choice as to whether kids should wear masks in school.

In many districts around the state masks have been mandatory, while in others mask are optional again. In Virginia Beach, private school Cape Henry Colligate made masks optional. However, here in WJCC the School Board voted 4-2 to keep masks in place in our schools. It was a very divisive issue amongst the parents in our district. During the public comment portion of the meeting, some were saying things such as, “God gave us faces, it is [the children’s] God given right to see faces,” while others were telling horror stories about Covid’19 patients dying in the ICU.

Another private boarding school in the western part of the state, Hargrave Military Academy,  stated “Masks required at Hargrave, Regardless of vaccination status until further notice.” It is very divided throughout the state, which is shown through some schools keeping masks in place. While others are making them completely up to the parents.

Madeleine Keough, a student at Cape Henry Colligate, said, “Seeing so many people without masks in school is so weird… like there’s so many of these people that I have never seen their full faces.”

Through the past two years of the pandemic masks have become such a normal thing that not wearing one or seeing someone wear one is starting to become weird. Many people are becoming so accustomed to wearing them that they forget to take them off after entering their cars, or homes.

Here in Williamsburg-James City County our Covid’19 cases have been some of the highest they have ever been due to the surge of the Omicron Variant. Currently our cases in Williamsburg are around 1,510, with the positivity rate at 39% according to the New York Times.  Thankfully, our school board decided to keep masks in our schools. This will help us keep our cases down, since only 39% of our population in Williamsburg is fully vaccinated. In our school district only 44.4% of our 12-17 year old students are fully vaccinated, while our students 5-11 year old’s are only at 22.1%. With such low numbers we could see surges of cases throughout our schools if the masks came off.

None of us can know if or when we are exposed to this virus when out in public. However, being at school we can monitor who is and is not exposed, and try to keep a tab on who is vaccinated. Having the extra protection of masks allows students, and their parents who are worried about this virus, to be more comfortable.

Thankfully, the change that the governor put into effect has not affected our district yet. Governor Youngkin’s new masks rules have been met with push back from around the state, with some districts setting out to sue our new G0vernor, though there has also been agreement from parents who have “threatened to put up arms against the school boards” solely so their kids can go mask-less.

Clearly, the pandemic has become political. Liberals and Conservatives have sided very differently in this battle over public health policy, turning this into a political war over masks, lockdowns, and vaccinations.