Students to continue wearing face masks
The Anchorage School Board requires students to wear masks and does not rule out extending its mandate. But it is not forcing vaccination on its teachers, administrative, and auxiliary staff. “Vaccination is voluntary,” an official spokesman told Sol de Medianoche.Last December 20, the Anchorage School Board decided to extend the mandate to wear facemasks to students throughout the district. It agreed to this measure 15 days before the January 3 return to school after the Christmas break. This reverted Superintendent Deena Bishop’s decision to make masking optional, although Bishop had already foreseen that with the return to school the Board would re-evaluate the infections situation and, if it increased, would not rule out requiring masks again.
Sol de Medianoche has asked Superintendent Deena Bishop and School Board members, Margo Bellami and Dora Wilson, to evaluate this measure and to explain, among other things, what plans the School District has in place to prevent infections and to try to prevent, or hinder as much as possible, the spread of the pandemic. They have asked that their responses be taken as official and representative of the entire School Board. The Anchorage School District has extended the mask requirement. Is this action due to an increased number of covid cases in the city’s school community? The School Board voted to allow more time after the Christmas break to determine the local condition and impact of the Omicron variant. Are the cases seen in Anchorage due to the Omicron variant? The impact of the Omicron variant to the Anchorage community is still unknown. Are teachers, administrative staff and all other school employees vaccinated to prevent infection? As of now, vaccination is voluntary for teachers and requires parent permission for students. Not all teachers and staff are vaccinated. Have the school children been vaccinated? Students 5 - 18 are eligible for vaccination. It is the parent’s decision to vaccinate. Not all students are vaccinated. Do you think that schoolchildren, and all teachers and school staff should be vaccinated? Each individual makes this decision for themselves. The School District provides free access to vaccination clinics, and testing centers, for staff and families. Do you think it will be necessary for children to take their classes again via Internet from their homes? If so, how can we solve the problem of parents being able to go to work if they must leave their children at home alone? The School Board’s Priority is to keep students safely in school for face-to-face learning. In relation to the above, has the School Community foreseen a way to take care of children whose parents must go to work? Schools are places of education. That is our focus and our mission. Let’s suppose that case numbers are estable. Would you extend the measure of wearing masks? This would depend on many factors that are yet unknown. It will also depend on the Superintendent’s recommendation in response to these factors, and the School Board’s review of the recommendation. |