STACYVILLE, Maine — Students at Katahdin Elementary School are now required to wear face coverings while in school.
RSU 89 Superintendent Marie Robinson relayed the school’s decision in an automated call to parents on Jan. 16 and in a letter posted on the district’s Facebook page on Jan. 14.
“This school year has been disrupted for all families and as KES families are aware, we have had a significant increase of quarantines since the return to school after the winter break,” Robinson wrote in her letter.
As of Jan. 14, the district had 17 active positive cases of COVID-19, including eight students and five staff members at the elementary school. KES also had 27 students in quarantine as being close contacts. A total of 325 students in the district have spent time in quarantine at some point during the school year.
Katahdin Elementary School teaches children from pre-kindergarten to fifth grade and has a student enrollment of about 141 students.
“As the Omicron Variant sweeps across Maine, positive Covid cases have risen rapidly,” Robinson said. “Please stay home from school and community events if you are experiencing any symptoms. Winter months also produce high numbers of influenza and RSV cases, which we are seeing in our area as well.”
Starting Tuesday, Jan. 18, KES students and staff were required to wear face coverings while in the school building, which will reduce the need for so many students to be quarantined.
Katahdin Middle-High School is not affected by the change and will remain mask-optional.
“We shifted to universal masking via an administrative decision made with stakeholder input,” Robinson said. “Based on the lack of desire to universally mask, we decided to only go with the elementary for now since we were sending home classes of students who weren’t sick. Universal masking allows us to keep well children in school. We incorporate a significant amount of outdoor learning as well so students get breaks from the masks.”
Earlier this month, the Maine CDC and Department of Education altered their requirements on students identified as close contacts. Any school district that has a mandatory mask policy no longer has to require students to quarantine if they are identified as close contacts.
“This shift will eliminate the need for contract tracing, allowing our current quarantine students to remain in school,” Robinson wrote. “The only students/staff who will be home are those who are actually sick.”
Elementary students will be given two mask breaks each day, in addition to their time at recess.
Also, due to spacing requirements while eating, KES will shift to dining in the cafeteria, with tables spaced six feet apart and students required to sit every other seat.
A survey conducted with parents of students in the district revealed that 63 percent of those responding felt masks should remain optional. Robinson said because of those results, the district was only making masks mandatory at the elementary school.
“It is clear that as we continue to navigate the challenges of these unprecedented times we need to work together to support a safe and consistent learning environment for our children,” Robinson wrote.
