Masks mandated indoors for Valley Central and Pine Bush

By Connor Linskey
Posted 8/18/21

When school begins this year, the Valley Central and Pine Bush school districts will require the wearing of face masks in all buildings for all faculty, staff, students and visitors regardless of …

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Masks mandated indoors for Valley Central and Pine Bush

Posted

When school begins this year, the Valley Central and Pine Bush school districts will require the wearing of face masks in all buildings for all faculty, staff, students and visitors regardless of vaccination status.

Valley Central
Valley Central will return to 100 percent in-person learning in September 2021.

“The Center for Disease Control and Prevention has been emphatic in stating that children should return to full-time in-person learning in the fall with layered prevention strategies in place,” Marianne Serratore, COVID-19 coordinator and assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction, stated in the district’s 2021-2022 Back to School Plan. “According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, remote learning highlighted inequities in education, was detrimental to the educational attainment of students of all ages and exacerbated the mental health crisis among children and adolescents. Therefore, returning to full-time in-person learning is a priority for the Valley Central School District.”

As recommended by the CDC, all Valley Central teachers, staff, students and visitors will wear masks in school buildings regardless of vaccination status. Everyone must also wear a mask while on a school bus, regardless of vaccination status. However, masks do not need to be worn outdoors.

Each classroom, main office and health office will have a supply of masks as needed. Masks can be manufactured or homemade. All nurses will have surgical masks and medical grade fitted N95 masks available for when they encounter a sick student or staff member that is showing signs and symptoms of COVID-19. In addition, they will have face shields, gloves and a gown to protect themselves and others.

Face shields and/or other accommodations, including frequent mask breaks and social distancing, will be considered for those who cannot medically tolerate a face covering.

The district will physically distance to the best of its ability. The recommendation is to maintain at least three feet of distance between students within classrooms, combined with indoor mask wearing. Cohorting will be utilized as much as possible. For lunches, Valley Central will maximize physical distancing as much as possible when moving through the food service line and while eating (especially indoors). Valley Central will use additional space as they are able to help facilitate distancing.

All nurses’ offices will be cleaned and disinfected regularly with attention to the high traffic areas, including door knobs and handles, by the custodial staff. In addition, nurses will be supplied with an approved disinfectant that they can use between each student visit.

All classrooms and buildings at large will be cleaned in accordance with NYS Guidelines. In addition, high traffic areas will be cleaned and disinfected regularly by the custodial staff.

CDC guidance will be followed for allowing a student or staff member to return to school after exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19. If a person is not diagnosed by a healthcare provider (physician, nurse practitioner, or physician assistant) with COVID-19 they can return to school: Once there is no fever, without the use of fever reducing medicines, and they have felt well for 24 hours; If they have been diagnosed with another condition or have a healthcare provider written note stating they are clear to return to school.

If a person is diagnosed with COVID-19 by a healthcare provider based on a test, or their symptoms, or does not get a COVID-19 test but has had symptoms, they should not be at school and should stay at home until: It has been at least ten days since the individual first had symptoms; It has been at least three days since the individual has had a fever (without using fever reducing medicine); and it has been at least three days since the individual’s symptoms improved, including coughing and shortness of breath.


Pine Bush
Pine Bush is still consulting with the Orange County Health Department and its medical director on the final details of their back to school plan.

Superintendent Tim Mains noted Sunday in an announcement on the district website that they hope to post it by the end of this week, if not before. However, Mains shared some broad pieces of the plan that he knows will not change during the final review by medical personnel.

Students will return before Labor Day this year. School starts for students on Wednesday, Sept. 1 and it will be a full day of instruction.

School will start for staff two days earlier on Monday, Aug. 30. Students will have two three-day weeks of school in a row because the day after Labor Day, they will also have off for Rosh Hashanah.

The district’s Return to Learn Fall ’21 Task Force Report was clear in wanting to have all students attending school in person five days a week. The district will open the school year this way, following those first two three-day weeks.

“While there will be many details in the reopening document we will post later this week, I can certainly forecast one important aspect that has drawn many questions of late – that’s about masks,” Mains stated in his announcement on Sunday. “We will be requiring masks for everyone indoors. This follows the guidance we have received from the Centers for Disease Control, the Orange County Dept. of Health and the State Education Department. Masks become a critically important mitigation effort in honoring our responsibility to protect our students and staff, especially while the Delta variant still rages. While mask breaks will still be provided in classrooms, masks on buses will be required at all times.”


Wallkill
On Aug. 10, Wallkill Superintendent Kevin Castle provided parents/guardians with a reopening plan timeline.

He noted that the previous week the district was informed by the NYSDOH that they were not going to provide reopening guidance for school districts. Instead they were informed that they should follow the guidance from the CDC and local health departments.

As a result of this information, a timeline was established for the district’s reopening plan. On Aug. 11, the district met with the Ulster County Department of Health. On Monday, the district-wide health and safety committee met to review the reopening plan. On Aug. 19, the district will inform parents/guardians and faculty/staff of the 2021-2022 reopening plan including the mitigation strategies that will be implemented.

On Sept. 7 there will be a superintendent’s conference day. The following day, in-person learning will begin for all students five days a week.

Castle noted that the timeline is subject to change based on additional guidance the district may receive from the CDC, the local health department, the state department of education or NYSDOH. If any changes are made to the timeline, parents/guardians will be informed in a timely manner.

Parents/guardians with questions or concerns should contact their child’s building principal.