Facial covering requirement is part of Return to Learn

School Board
By: 
Pete Temple
Express Associate Editor

     A requirement of facial coverings for students and staff for all grades was a cornerstone of the Return to Learn plan approved by the Monticello School Board at its regular meeting July 27.

     The requirement, a change from the plan that was brought to the board for the meeting, requires facial coverings except for the following:

     • Those who can’t wear them for medical reasons.

     • No facial coverings will be required for physical activities in PE, recess, or lunch.

     • Facial coverings for choir and band will be left to the discretion of the teacher/director in consultation with the building principal.

     The board also decided, in the motion made by Craig Stadtmueller and seconded by Amanda Brennemann, that the Return to Learn plan would be revisited at each board meeting.

     The decision to require facial coverings, defined as either cloth masks, bandanas or face shields, came after a nearly three-hour discussion that included seven speakers from the public, most of whom were both teachers and parents. Most of them urged the board to require masks.

     “I know it will not be an easy task to get all the children to wear masks, but as adults, we should lead by example and wear masks when we are at the school,” Melissa Motley said. “Wouldn’t your rather err on the side of caution, than have the worst thing imaginable happen?”

     “Even requiring them for six hours a day is doing something,” Diane Temple said. “The district has invested time, energy and financial resources into PBIS to create caring, respectful students who have safe practices, and wearing masks is a way to bring that PBIS into real life.”

     Lindsey Ryan referred to a survey of staff members that drew 77 responses, noting that only 13.2 percent of those who responded at “no concerns” about the safety of the Return to Learn plan.

     Todd Hospodarsky handed out a sheet listing facts and data about wearing facial coverings, including a Gazette article regarding a study showing that if Iowa went to a mask mandate, 700 lives would be saved by Nov. 1.

     “It’s here, it’s killing people, and masks can save lives,” Hospodarsky said.

     Emily Recker argued that numbers can be misleading.

     “Since March we’ve had nine people, total, hospitalized in Jones County,” Recker said. “We are obviously not New York City. We are rural.

     “When you look at 146,000 deaths currently in the United States, remember that is COVID-19 pneumonia, and influenza. It is not separated out. Also take into consideration how many of these people are dying with COVID, not from COVID.”

     The board members had discussions of their own, interspersed by numerous questions from the public.

     Board vice president Craig Stadtmueller said the safety of students and staff is paramount.

     “What is evident is that masks are useful in slowing the spread of the virus,” he said. Later, he added: “If teachers are anxious about being in the building, how will they perform effectively?”

     Mandy Norton expressed concern about forcing students to wear masks in situations, such as PE, when they have an elevated heart rate. Amanda Brennemann said she believes younger children who can’t take off their own masks should not be required to wear masks.

     Board president John Schlarmann said he was leaning toward requiring masks.

     Another point of contention was the plan to turn Wednesdays into online learning days, allowing for development of online instruction and giving staff the opportunity to deep clean and sanitize in each school building.

     Dale Yousse asked: “With two parents working, who is going to watch the kids? I don’t see how that’s going to work.”

     Superintendent Brian Jaeger said there were many aspects of the plan that are not perfect, but giving teachers the time to plan for the additional task of teaching online was important. The board, in its motion, kept the Wednesday plan intact.

     Many other items on the original plan that was presented to the board remained the same. The biggest one was that the district would continue its plan to go with three learning options: Brick-and-Mortar (in-person), Online Learning (entirely on-line), or Hybrid (a combination of the two).

     Under the brick-and-mortar model, students will be required to wear a district or personal face covering on buses, including shuttle buses. Face coverings will also be required for students and staff when in the halls during passing time, in addition to the classroom requirements listed above.

     Parents are asked to do temperature checks each morning at home before sending their child to school.

     For the online model, online learning will be required learning, unlike last spring’s voluntary learning plan; and student attendance and participation is required. Online learning is expected to have the same level of rigor as a brick-and-mortar class.

     Online lessons will be recorded and placed in SeeSaw or Google Classroom so students can access them anytime or anywhere. All students would have the opportunity to rewatch the lessons.

     School closures will be different; every student will be required to participate in online learning during that time.

     The hybrid model gives students the flexibility to participate both within the school building and online. If a student is not attending in person, a parent will need to give permission.

     Students taking classes for part of the day will need to provide their own transportation. Students may not be present at school if they are not attending an in-person class.

     During the first week of school, the schedule will be modified, with brick-and-mortar coursework in the morning and online coursework in the afternoon, as a way to help students better understand the expectations of online learning.

     “The first couple of weeks will be practice,” elementary principal Denny Folken said.

     There are other restrictions related to this unusual school year. For one thing, no parents, volunteers or other visitors will be allowed beyond the office in each building. And, field trips and other school activities such as Shadow a Student Day, Grandparents Day and Veterans Day are suspended until further notice.

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