Some parents said they are comfortable sending their kids to school, with or without a mask, while others said they are not with some saying they will opt for digital learning.
Maria Lewis who has two children and Courtney McConnaughey who has three children in the Tecumseh Local School District are sending their kids back to the classroom without masks.
“I feel good about sending them back right now since masks are not required. My kids will not be wearing masks this school year. I feel like making masks optional is absolutely the best choice. The decision should be left up to the parents if they want their kids to wear masks or not,” said Lewis, who has a kindergarten and second grader. “Both my kids are excited to go to school. My daughter especially is excited to not wear a mask this year and for school to go back to how it was when she was kindergartener.”
Courtney McConnaughey, who has a kindergartener, first and fifth grader, echoed Lewis’ sentiment. .
“I am excited and ready to send them back to school full time and get them back into a mostly normal routine. The constant change and not ever knowing anything last year was really hard on them and us parents too, so knowing that they will be physically in school every day is quite a relief,” she said.
“We’re glad Tecumseh is making masks optional. Personally, we will not be sending our kids to school with masks as long as it is an option. Looking at it from their view, I couldn’t imagine going to school for the very first time and not being able to see any of my classmates or teachers faces. It has to be so hard on the younger kids,” McConnaughey added.
McConnaughey said that she is grateful for the district doing “such a good job” with everything and trying to think about the kids.
“After the year that the kids have had they are really excited to get back into school and be with their friends and teachers and really be able to interact with each other like normal. I’m sure they will be thrilled just to be able to play outside with their friends without a mask and be able to sit next to their friends at lunch again rather than six-feet apart,” she said.
Vickie South, who has two children in the Southeastern Local School District, also will be sending her children back with no masks. She said they both learned virtually and in person last year when masks were mandatory, but that they adapted quickly and had no issues.
“We were hoping there would be no masks this year, but I believe they will be optional. My children will not be wearing one if they have a choice... I am confident the school will be as safe as they can, and my children know to wash or sanitize their hands throughout the day,” said South. “They are both super excited to go back to school and are hoping for a normal school year.”
Credit: Bill Lackey
Credit: Bill Lackey
The Ohio Department of Health is “strongly recommending” masks for those who have not received the vaccine as well as vaccines for those eligible as part of guidance for K-12 schools for the upcoming school year, said ODH Chief Medical Office Bruce Vanderhoff.
“While there are no mandates associated with this guidance, we believe that the recommendations we are issuing are essential to the health of Ohio’s youth and the success of the coming school year,” he said. “The safety of Ohio’s children is paramount, and the preventive measures that schools take will help protect Ohio’s students.”
The CDC said earlier this month that vaccinated teachers and students do not need to wear masks inside school buildings and unvaccinated people should continue to wear them indoors, but updated their guidance last week to recommend that people in areas with high transmission levels of COVID-19 transmission resume wearing masks indoors.
The CDC rates counties on four transmission levels -- low, moderate, substantial and high.
Clark and Champaign counties were at moderate levels a week ago. The transmission levels for both counties was substantial Thursday, according to the CDC website.
Clark County had a total of 14,484 coronavirus cases throughout the pandemic and 309 deaths as of Thursday afternoon, according to the ODH. Champaign County had 3,528 cases and 60 deaths.
About 44% of Clark County’s total population has received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. In Champaign County, about 37% of the county’s total population has received at least one shot.
Officials in several school districts said masks will be optional, including Global Impact STEM Academy, Clark-Shawnee, Graham, Greenon, Mechanicsburg Exempted Village, Northeastern, Northwestern, Southeastern, Tecumseh and Triad local schools.
Seth Huber, who has two children in the Northwestern Local School District, and Chrissy Zettler, who has four children in the Springfield City School District, have decided not to send their children back to school in person.
Huber has a fourth and sixth grader and said he is not sending his children back to school in person. He said his children will do online learning because of the delta variant, optional masking, and not knowing if everyone is vaccinated.
“From what I have read and heard, this new variant is supposed to be highly more contagious and is apparently infecting more children. Now I could be wrong about that, but for me I won’t be sending my children back this year... And with masks being optional, it just seems to be too much of a risk for my kids,” Huber said.
Huber said he was “not too happy” with the district’s decision to make masks optional and that his main precaution was to not send his kids back in person. He said they will continue to attend K12, which is online schooling done through Ohio Academy.
“Both my children can be social butterflies, but my son actually decided he wanted to do K12 again this year and my daughter is not greatly happy about it but understands why she is doing K12,” he said. “I do feel there will be some struggles because my kids like to be very social. The teachers they have are actually very wonderful and very helpful if a child isn’t understanding what’s going on... but I’m going to say the social aspect of not being in person (will be a challenge),” he said.
Zettler, a parent of a second, third, fourth and sixth grader, also said she is letting her children attend school virtually.
“I am not sending my kids back. Instead, we will be doing OnCourse homeschooling provided by SCSD where they will be doing their curriculum here at home,” Zettler said.
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“My older two children are not comfortable going back to school and wearing a mask all day, so we left the decision up to them on whether to go back or not,” Zettler said. “With my fourth grader having epilepsy, the risk of him getting COVID is not worth sending them so that weighed into our decision to keep them home as well. I want them to be wherever they are most comfortable, and they seem to be more comfortable schooling from home. Plus, their grades were much better than in person.”
Zettler said last year there were some challenges with her children learning virtually, but she said she doesn’t foresee any for the upcoming school year.
“I am not worried about it at all. My second grader gets in less trouble at home with his ADHD and they all tend to be able to focus with less distractions here than in the classroom. The only child I worry about is my third grader who does need more social interaction than homeschooling affords but with them still playing fall baseball that will help,” she said.
In addition to masks and vaccines, districts are encouraged to improve ventilation and bring in outdoor air as much as possible. Physical distancing, frequent handwashing and sanitizing spaces also are advised.
When it comes to sending their children to school, Lewis and McConnaughey said they are still taking precautions.
“My children know that washing their hands or using hand sanitizer throughout the day is important. Also covering their mouths if they sneeze or cough,” Lewis said. “Other than that, I sanitize their bookbags and lunch boxes regularly since those are frequently used items that travel between the school, bus, and home.”
McConnaughey said she will continue to do her best to make sure her children know the importance of hand washing and reminding them how easily germs can be spread.
Carla Smurthwaite, a parent of two children at Mechanicsburg Exempted Village Schools, is also taking precautions even with one child vaccinated.
“My seventh grader is fully vaccinated, and I’ll leave the decision up to him to wear a mask,’' she said, adding that he will likely choose to wear one. “My four-year-old struggles wearing a mask, so likely will not... and we will be monitoring temperatures daily and using hand sanitizer,” said Smurthwaite. “The kids are excited. I’m nervous but we need to get back to the normal.”
Districts are continuing to stick with their decision to make masks optional, but they still encourage students to get the vaccine if they are eligible.
The Clark County Combined Health District is also continuing to encourage students to get vaccinated.
“Vaccines are proven safe and effective and offer the greatest protection against the spread of coronavirus,” said Nate Smith, CCCHD Communications Coordinator. “Because only the FDA-approved Pfizer vaccine is available to individuals 12-17, it takes five weeks from the first dose for students to be considered fully vaccinated (two weeks after their second dose). . We encourage all eligible students and their parents to make a plan to get vaccinated at any one of our local clinics.”
All local schools will be in person this fall, with most of them starting at the end of August.
School start dates for Clark and Champaign counties
Clark-Shawnee: Aug. 18
Global Impact STEM Academy: Aug. 18
Graham: Aug. 25
Greenon: Sept. 7
Mechanicsburg: Aug. 19
Northeastern: Aug. 19
Northwestern: Aug. 18
Southeastern: Aug. 26
Springfield: Aug. 18, 19
Tecumseh: Aug. 18
Triad: Aug. 19
Urbana: Aug. 23
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