RELEASE DATE: Oct. 22, 2021
As the weather gets cooler, many school activities are moving inside. The West Carrollton School District requires that students, staff and all visitors (including individuals making deliveries) wear a mask while inside any school facility. Masks are also required while utilizing any form of school transportation including buses and vans.
The mandate to wear masks in West Carrollton Schools was put into effect Sept. 2, 2021 after seeing an alarming rise in the number of students and staff being quarantined from classrooms due to positive COVID cases, including those caused by the Delta variant. Since the mandate, numbers have declined, but the Ohio Department of Health K-12 Quarantine Guidelines have not changed.
The mask mandate requires students and staff to wear a mask while on a school bus or any form of school transportation. Students should have a mask on when they enter any school facility and it is highly recommended that students bring at least one additional mask to have available if needed.
Most school districts in Montgomery County have put mask mandates in place and, like West Carrollton, have seen the number of students and staff being quarantined reduced. The districts that do not require masks or have lifted mask mandates have seen an upward trend of numbers of students and staff being quarantined.
Keeping students and staff in the classrooms is important as well as allowing students to participate in athletic activities in the gyms and performances in the auditoriums. Last year, spectator numbers were limited and many performances cancelled. This year, the number of spectators and audience members is not currently being limited; however, this will only continue if everyone coming into school facilities is wearing a mask and following social distancing measures.
The school district is continuing to evaluate mask wearing including meeting with state and local health officials as well as area school district leaders. There has been a downward trend in overall positive cases in Ohio which could result in a future change from the Ohio Department of Health. In the meantime, the West Carrollton school district will continue to follow the current Ohio Department of Health K-12 Quarantine Guidelines that allows students and staff to remain in the classroom.