Parents of the Council Rock School District remain divided on the board’s May 20 decision to make masks optional for the 2021-22 academic year.
However, during the school board’s latest meeting on the evening of Thursday, Aug. 5, Superintendent Dr. Robert Fraser announced that he stands by this previous decision. Therefore, the topic of face coverings was not again included on the agenda. Despite fiercely erring on the side of caution earlier in the year, Fraser is now following the recommendations of Dr. David Damsker, director of the Bucks County Health Department, who said masks should be optional.
“I haven’t always been completely on board with some of Dr. Damsker’s recommendations, especially when those recommendations have differed from some of the other health organizations or agencies,” said Fraser. “Looking back at 2020, Dr. Damsker has been great a lot more than not … I continue to trust Dr. Damsker’s guidance. I also sense that this board as a whole stands behind this May 20 vote, and that is why the topic is not on this evening’s agenda.”
Fraser shared that the upcoming school year, which commences on Monday, Aug. 30, will largely focus on learning loss and the social-emotional needs of students. All learning will take place in the classroom. A virtual model will not be offered due to low interest from families.
He added that he intends to wear a mask around students so that those who do wear one won’t feel ostracized.
“When we open schools, I expect to see some students wearing masks and I expect to see some students not wearing masks, and it’s all OK. It’s great. Both approaches are perfectly legitimate, equally valued,” he said. “It’s incredibly important for all students to feel welcome in our schools, to feel valued in our schools and to just feel that genuine, genuine sense of belonging.”
Since masking was not on the agenda, the slew of parents who attended the meeting to speak for or against the May 20 decision had to wait until the second round of public comment, which lasted about an hour and a half.
The opinions were pretty much split down the middle. While half the parents in attendance were in favor of optional masking, the others – mainly parents of elementary students who are unable to get vaccinated – feared for the safety of their children.
Langhorne resident Vanessa Smith presented the board with a survey that boasted over 680 signatures, all supporting the May 20 vote. Retired Council Rock teacher Dawn DiLuigi explained how important facial expressions and speaking clarity are for childhood development. She argued that children are missing these things when their peers are wearing a face mask. A mother and healthcare worker added how cloth masks are not only ineffective in preventing COVID-19, they’re “dehumanizing.”
As for the latter group, many parents urged for a compromise – have optional masking for middle and high schoolers, and mandatory masking for elementary schoolers.
One mother of five Council Rock students explained how, at the end of May, there was a completely different COVID environment. The delta variant was not yet running rampant. She brought up the opposition’s argument that face masks cause depression in children. For her kids, they barely even noticed they had the mask on. The depression came when schools closed and they were forced to learn at home, which she fears will happen if there is no mask mandate.
A father of three Hillcrest Elementary students and an immunologist shared the previous speaker’s sentiment, saying, “We’re dealing with a different virus than we were in 2020.” He acknowledged that nobody likes masks, but “they’re a great tool.”
Another mom applauded Fraser for planning to wear masks when around students, but she candidly stated how they don’t care what he does. They care what their peers are doing. Though she pleaded with her 8-year-old son to keep his mask on, he immediately removed it upon seeing only two of his classmates with a mask.
For now, the superintendent is standing by Damsker’s advice. Fraser read a quote from the doctor, which said, “The true risk of symptomatic hospitalization of children is miniscule.”
“In my opinion, when you think about that coupled with the learning loss that we know occurred here and elsewhere, coupled with the social-emotional piece, all of that has to be weighed out and that’s what I’ve done. Throughout the course of the past year, I tried to call it the way I saw it.”
As it stands, the CDC is recommending universal indoor masking for all students, staff, teachers and visitors to K-12 schools, regardless of vaccination status. But this is not a mandate. While New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy has ordered masking for all public school students and staff, Gov. Tom Wolf has yet to make such a move in Pennsylvania. He’s leaving it up to individual school districts to decide what’s best.
Visit crsd.org for more information and updates.
Samantha Bambino can be reached at sbambino@newspapermediagroup.com
