The New School Year Looks Similar to Last Year’s (For Now, At Least)
The 2021 school year was supposed to be a bit more optimistic in terms of COVID-19 being under control.
The student’s at Roy C. Ketcham High School in Wappingers Falls, New York are still wearing masks and being cautious around their peers. This is the new standard of a high school experience.
The students have had their mask requirements up in the air for a majority of the summer leading up to the school year. The Wappingers superintendent Dr. Dwight Bonk publicly stated he wanted mask mandates to be up to local discretion, rather than following the rules the New York State Government put into effect.
“We’ve had issues of asthmatic episodes, heat rashes, fatigue, headaches, dry throat. I could go on,” Bonk said in the interview with Spectrum News One.
Months later, students are back roaming the halls of Bonk’s schools adhering to CDC guidelines, not his.
Those differences come with changes from the CDC, who ruled social distancing indoors only has to be three feet apart instead of six feet. There are also five full days a week of in person learning with no option to go remote.
Student’s at the high school level are also all eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine. The vaccine is required for students who want to “play sports or do any type of extra-curricular,” according to their policy. Any other student who is in the 12th grade level must have a vaccine, while 9th, 10th and 11th graders must have an up to date physical on file.
Conversely, another school in Roy C. Ketcham’s school district has different plans in place to maximize safety within their walls. Our Lady of Lourdes High School in Poughkeepsie, New York has laid out their reopening plan as a “continuation of last year’s policy”, according to the document. They are a Catholic high school and are usually given different rules and their own power to do as they wish, but it has become increasingly clear that regardless of affiliation, all schools in the area must side with the CDC’s recommendations.
Our Lady of Lourdes does not require the COVID-19 vaccine, rather, they stated that they would like for all students to be up to date on their recommended vaccines, including the flu shot. All of the students must wear masks in all spaces except outdoors, in the cafeteria, or during gym class.
While the two high schools differ in their policies, they are both committed to protecting their students and having the school year run as smoothly as possible. As rules change and vaccines become cleared for younger people, the rules will change and going mask-less could eventually happen, it is only a matter of time.
