After suffering a huge uptick in student-to-student transfers of COVID, Fredericktown Local Schools has seen dramatic results after the implementation of a mandatory mask policy while in the classroom.
There were 130 students quarantined at Fredericktown middle/senior high schools during the first two weeks of the school year when masks weren’t mandatory, Principal Brent Garee said. That number was alarming considering 250 students were quarantined for COVID-related issues in all of the 2020-21 school year. Since mandatory the mask policy was implemented during the third week, only 10 students have needed to be quarantined.
“Initially, there was a definite uptick in cases,” Garee said. “Last year, we had 26 students that tested positive for COVID. This year, we’ve already had 14. That’s why we went to the mask.”
Garee oversees about 700 students. This is his third year as principal and the third year he has dealt with the impact of the coronavirus. Last year was a constant challenge, but Fredericktown Local Schools was one of the few school systems to get through the entire school year.
While masks were required all of last year, this school year began without a mandatory mask requirement until the number of students needing to be quarantined shot up along with student-to-student transfers.
“Last year, we had zero student-to-student transmission of COVID through contact tracing,” Garee said. “This year, almost every student case – before the mask mandate – led to another student at the school getting COVID.”
Reinstating a mask policy has halted the alarming spread that is a nationwide concern as school resumes just as the delta virus is on the rise.
“Masks have been very effective,” Garee said. “We don’t have to quarantine that many students anymore. The numbers have dropped significantly. During the first 10 days, we were averaging about 13 kids to quarantine a day. One day, we had as many as 50. After the masks, we’ve had 10 in two weeks. Kids are able to stay in school, which is what we want, and they’re able to stay safe.”
Barring the unforeseen, Garee said, he is confident the school year can continue without interruption and in a safe manner as long as students take advantage of the boxes and boxes of masks at their disposal.
“If the numbers trend like they did last year, we should be fine,” Garee said. “We’ve found the mask to be extremely effective in keeping students in school and not transmitting COVID to each other. I’m very confident we’ll continue to see that trend.”
