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Masks required at Mishawaka Schools starting Monday, Aug. 23

(Photo supplied/School City of Mishawaka)

The School City of Mishawaka will require masks beginning Monday, August 23.

In a statement Thursday to their families, the school said masks will be required for all students, staff and guests while indoors at school facilities, regardless of vaccination status.

The decision is based on the impact of the Delta variant on the first seven days of school. The schools say their goal is to keep students and employees healthy and keep their buildings open for in-person learning.

Mishawaka schools, as well as Penn Harris Madison schools were called out, this week, by Beacon Health Systems and dozens of doctors in the local medical community in an attempt to get them to reverse their masks optional policies. At this point, masks remain optional for students who attend PHM schools.

The Elkhart County Health Department issued a letter to Elkhart schools, this week, strongly advising them that masks should also be worn.

The statement from Mishawaka schools, released Thursday, Aug. 19:

Dear SCM Families,

We continue to monitor the transmission of COVID-19 in our schools and the community. As you are likely aware, infection rates continue to escalate throughout our region. The Delta Variant is more transmissible and this has been evident in our first seven days of school.

When the decision was made to be mask optional, we said it would be based on data and that we would continue to monitor our data. See the table by clicking here.

The numbers above are concerning. Because we remain committed to providing for the health and wellbeing of our students and staff, the Board of School Trustees has approved revisions to our current Roadmap to Recovery.

Beginning Monday, August 23 masks will be required for all students, staff, and guests while indoors, regardless of vaccination status. The goal of requiring masks is to keep our students and employees healthy and to keep our buildings open for in-person learning. Masks will continue to be optional while outdoors. Please ensure your child(ren) comes to school on Monday wearing a mask.

Any student who rides an SCM school bus or Transpo will be expected to continue wearing a mask that covers the nose and mouth while on the bus until that federal mandate expires on January 18, 2022.

All Hoosiers, age 12 and above, are strongly encouraged to obtain a COVID-19 vaccination. As a reminder, individuals who are fully vaccinated and remain without symptoms do not have to quarantine.

We believe this decision is vital to keep our buildings open and maintain in-person learning for our students. We truly believe that students learn best when they can be face to face with their teachers in the same classroom. Wearing a mask is one step to help reduce the transmission of COVID-19 in hopes of reaching our goal.

Thank you to all of our SCM families for your continued patience and flexibility as we make the best decisions for the health, safety and continued successful learning of our students.

Sincerely,

Wayne Barker
Superintendent of Schools

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2 comments

Charles U Farley August 20, 2021 at 2:07 pm

When are the school administrators and those idiot doctors going to actually follow the science? I understand the administrators, but medical professionals should know full well that a piece of cloth is not sufficient filtration to stop a COVID virus load. The MINIMUM masks that would make a difference are fitted N95 masks.

This is agenda driven meddling at best. The area doctors who backed this need to be named and shamed.

Reply
Slacker06 August 21, 2021 at 12:09 pm

The cry of follow the science is a phony propaganda tool to control us. There is no evidence in the science that masks work on Covid. During the last local spike 80%+ were already wearing masks everywhere they went. So how did that work out for everyone. This is tyranny pure and simple. Following “CDC Recommendations” isn’t science because there is NONE concerning masks and Covid. CDC and Obervaxenführer/Obermaskenführer Fauci refuse to do the studies. Just do what loser Dopey King Xo says and SHUT UP. Have you people in the schools lost all ability to use logic and reason to make decisions that are really decisions parents should be making for their kids. If my kids gets sick because of the mask I will own the schools in court.

Reply

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