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Eau Claire Area School District’s decision to require masks met with mixed reaction from parents [1]
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Date: 2021-08-13
EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (WEAU) - The Eau Claire Area School District will require masks this school year for pre-K through 8th grade in light of increased community spread of COVID-19 in recent weeks.
“This year we are fully committed to maintaining in-person learning for our students, five days a week. We must take the steps necessary to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and continue a consistent learning experience for students, families, and staff,” said Superintendent Michael Johnson in a news release. “We know this news will be disappointing to some of our families. However, our goal is to minimize disruption to student learning due to quarantine and illness.”
The decision announced Thursday is met by mixed reaction from parents in the district.
“Requiring masks makes us feel loads more comfortable with our kids going to school everyday,” said Adriana Hoffmann. “My daughter has an autoimmune condition and she is not old enough to be vaccinated yet so we were very nervous about sending the kids back to school this year.”
The mom of two said keeping her first and fourth-grader at home was not an option so she is happy to see the district take this step.
“I think we all need to work together as a community to look out for each other,” Hoffman said.
Other parents like Maggie Vinopal, mom to a seventh-grader, were disappointed by the mask requirement.
“That type of decision needs to be made between a family and an individual and their health care provider and one blanket health care decision does not fit all people,” Vinopal said. “I think that everybody should have the choice to do what they feel is best for their child and their family and their individual health.”
The decision to implement universal masking in schools regardless of vaccination status is backed by the CDC and the American Academy of Pediatrics.
“If you leave masking up to the families some kids might feel uncomfortable being the ones who do wear a mask and that can be really hard in a school setting with peer pressure and bullying so it can just be more effective if everyone has to wear a mask so we are not singling anyone out,” said Dr. Allison Schneider, a pediatrician at Prevea Health.
As the delta variant of COVID-19 runs rampant, Dr. Schneider says masks are vital to protect children from both contracting and spreading the virus, especially as the vaccine remains available only to those 12 and older.
“I think the fact that there will be a mask mandate is going to help protect those kids especially those who are not vaccinated against the even more infectious delta variant so the vaccine masking and social distancing all those kinds of things will help protect our more vulnerable population,” said Dr. Schneider.
The Eau Claire City-County Health Department provided a statement in response to the decision: “We are concerned about the increase in cases locally due to the Delta variant, including the increased number of cases among kids under age 18. The Eau Clair City-County Health Department supports following CDC guidance in schools and layering multiple prevention strategies.”
Administrators with the Eau Claire Area School District declined an interview with WEAU.
As of Thursday, the Chippewa Falls Area Unified School District and the School District of Altoona are planning for masks to be optional for students and staff.
Copyright 2021 WEAU. All rights reserved.
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[1] Url:
https://www.weau.com/2021/08/13/eau-claire-area-school-districts-decision-require-masks-met-by-mixed-reaction-parents/
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