Masks encouraged, not required

By James Hanlon
Leader Staff Writer
Masks will be encouraged, (except on buses) but not required for staff and students at Oxford Community Schools this year. Assistant Superintendent of Student Services Jill Lemond described these and other COVID-19 related policies for the 2021-2022 school year at the Aug. 10 school board meeting in the OHS Performing Arts Center.

“Just as a reminder, this is a constantly changing situation,” Lemond said. “I don’t know how many times I was in front of you last year with a change. So I want to just remind our community that we will change if we need to change. We have changed in the past. We’ve done a great job of being nimble and quick on our feet and I think that really helped us last year to be able to change with the numbers or the trends or the laws and regulations.”
There are five main agencies the district looks to when considering protocols: The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS), the Governor’s Office, Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MIOSHA), the Oakland County Health Division (OCHD) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
At present, there are no emergency orders from MDHHS (except for how to report cases), the governor or MIOSHA. OCHD has offered no new guidance since May 26. “That could change at any time. We are anxiously awaiting that guidance, but we have not received anything yet,” Lemond said.
New CDC recommendations from Aug. 5 prioritize in-person learning and advise monitoring local conditions. “Together with local public health officials, school administrators should consider multiple factors when they make decisions about implementing layered prevention strategies against COVID-19,” the new guidance states. “Since schools typically serve their surrounding communities, decisions should be based on the school population, families and students served, as well as their communities.”
Lemond cited Oakland County’s high vaccination rate and relatively low current case rate compared with the rest of the United States, as just two metrics the district is watching among many others. “We are going to listen to the CDC and also recommend that masks be worn by students and staff, but we are not going to mandate them,” she said.
They are mandatory on all school buses, however. “That’s a federal order. The CDC says any public transportation, riders and drivers must wear masks. That was recently clarified to include school buses. So we will have riders in masks, properly wearing them on our buses, or they won’t be allowed to ride.”
Ann Weeden, the district’s director of transportation, said all buses will be equipped with pediatric and adult sized masks in case anyone loses or forgets their own.
“We’re going to be supporting every family’s choice,” Lemond said. “I really want to bring up empathy . . . we have families in all different positions, as we all know, with all different health concerns and different ideas about this topic. The district is not taking a political approach. We are going to share exactly what the CDC has shared with us, and we’re going to support everyone.”
Some parents have asked, what if their child wears a mask? “Great. Your child wears a mask, we’re going to support them wearing a mask,” Lemond said, “and there’s not going to be any bullying allowed in our schools just like there’s never bullying allowed in our schools.”
Four concerned parents spoke about masking during the meeting’s unscheduled audience participation. Three wanted stricter mask requirements.
Ashley Ross, who is a member of the Oxford Village Council, spoke as a parent of a four-year-old at Oxford Early Learning Center and a five-year-old at Daniel Axford. “I am asking you to implement a masking policy for the upcoming school year or until vaccinations are available for all ages in the school district,” she said.
Currently, COVID-19 vaccines are only approved for those 12 years and older. “Until every school-age child has the option, not saying they have to get it, but that my child has the option to even be protected, making a mask optional for some families does not protect my child, even if he wears a mask,” Ross said.
A parent of a three-year-old with a disability at OELC asked how staff will know which children’s parents want them to wear a mask so they can help those kids keep their masks on properly. “Let us look into that and we’ll get back to you,” said School Board President Tom Donnelly. “That’s a fair question and I want to get an answer to that myself.”
William Hamilton, a parent of an eighth grader at Oxford Middle School, thanked the board for giving families a choice on masks. He cited research that “forcing children to wear masks leads to adverse health effects” from increased carbon dioxide. “I’m not against people if they don’t feel safe not having a mask,” he said. “Absolutely, let them wear the masks. But this shouldn’t be a one-size fits all approach.”
Beyond recommending masks, Lemond detailed the district’s layered prevention strategies. As for handling coronavirus cases, anyone who tests positive must isolate for 10 days. However, tests are not required. Staff and students must merely be 24-hours symptom-free before returning to school.
“We’re going to ask students and staff to stay out of our buildings until they are 24 hours symptom-free, regardless of the symptom,” Lemond said. “To give you a scenario, previously, you may have had a fever, you go home and come back the next day. We’re not going to let kids do that. We’re going to make them wait until the following day, two days out, 24 full hours out of school symptom-free.”
Health screening will be simpler, too. Staff will no longer have to complete a health screener when they enter the building. Only visitors who enter the building for longer than 15 minutes will be required to fill out a questionnaire. Parents will be allowed back into the buildings for “educational purposes” such as conferences, curriculum nights and classroom tours.
Elementary students will remain in their individual cohorts while indoors. “This was a decision we made together with elementary principals,” Lemond said. “When [students] go to the lunchroom, they’re going to stay in their cohort. So, they’re not eating in their classroom like they did last year, but they’re eating together. So instead of, for example, the fourth grade at a table, it will just be one class at a table, six feet from another fourth grade class. So the only time they will be mingling with other students without a mask will be outdoors at recess.”
Keeping cohorts separate allows the district to monitor each classroom. Evidence of in-class transmission can lead to classrooms moving to temporary remote learning.
Lemond said the schools will continue to encourage good hygiene practice like washing hands or sanitizing whenever students go in and out of the building. “I think that was a good practice anyhow, especially going in and out of recess.”
Sanitizer stations are at most doors at the elementary schools and throughout the high school and middle school. Personal protective equipment like masks, shields, dividers, gloves and cleaning supplies are available throughout the district upon request.
Last year’s success was no accident, she said. It was a community-wide effort. “I don’t think one year of success guarantees another. We need to re-commit. We need to stay vigilant, stay quick on our feet.”