February 18, 2022
I am writing today to inform you of an anticipated and upcoming change in school district personal masking requirements. As you know, Penn-Delco implemented universal, required masking on January 10, 2022 due to an overwhelming number of Covid cases impacting the region and our district.
Fortunately, since then, the excessive wave of cases has declined dramatically and substantially. The average number of daily new COVID cases in our county is now roughly 93% lower than the case count when the district reintroduced universal masking for all students and staff. Further, Penn-Delco has gone from 177 known cases in early January to less than 4 positive cases among district students.
In light of those latest trends and case reductions, the Penn-Delco School Board will be voting next week on updates to our COVID-19 Health and Safety Plan that will include transition to a mask optional status effective Thursday, February 24th, 2022. I anticipate these changes will have the support of the school board. You can anticipate that the requirement for all students, staff, and visitors in our buildings to wear a mask will no longer be in effect beginning next Thursday.
Thanks largely to the diligence and kind commitment to masking by staff and students when the previous wave of COVID was many times higher than today, Penn-Delco was able to see an extraordinary reduction in the number of students unable to attend school due to required quarantine, with 184 students/staff in quarantine plummeting to less than 5. Now that the region is experiencing far less viral spread, we can safely grant students and staff who choose not to mask the opportunity to do so. While there are some public health experts who believe it may be sensible for some individuals to continue to mask in public spaces, others support a change and moderation in universal masking for varying reasons.
Staff, students, and parents shall make the individual decision on what is best for themselves or their children. Individuals who wish to maintain a defensive approach to the virus will be supported; those who choose to follow recommendations to mask are encouraged to do so. Individuals who are comfortable not wearing masks will be supported; those who believe it is no longer necessary for their child or themselves to wear a mask will not be required to do so. Thankfully, regional conditions have changed to such an extent that we can now safely permit individual choice when it comes to masking.
Our district continues to take a smart approach to the safety considerations around COVID, and we note that masks remain “recommended” by some health agencies. Much has changed and been learned since the start of the pandemic. Opportunities for vaccination are now widely available, opportunities to continue to mask and/or wear a face shield will continue, proven mitigation efforts such as physical distancing when possible can continue…all while enabling and supporting the option to forego a mask for those who choose to do so.
Many of us are aware of places where divisive debates about masking became extreme. We should appreciate the communal support for one another that has been in place here in PDSD. When masks were necessary to keep our schools open and help stem the spread of the virus, our staff/students accepted their responsibility with grace. Now that conditions have changed so positively, we can support individual decisions about masks with an equal level of respect.
For parents, particularly of our younger students, kindly review with your child your expectations and preferences with regards to wearing a mask at school. Our staff should not be expected to manage and teach their classes while also continuing to monitor and police which of their specific students are or are not wearing masks at given times. Parents of students with significant specific and unique special needs can continue to communicate with school staff on these matters in the collaborative spirit that is always in place.
I am optimistic that as we begin to put the winter season behind us, the coming months will reveal gradual steps back to pre-pandemic activities with mitigations that adjust and align to current regional metrics. As always, thank you for your continued support of our dedicated staff, wonderful students, and our entire school district.
Optimistically yours,
Dr. George Steinhoff
Superintendent of Schools
