Decisions, Decisions
FILE – In this Aug. 6, 2020, file photo, Guntown Middle School eighth graders walk the halls to their next class as others wait in their assigned spots against the wall before moving into their next class during the first day back to school for the Lee County District in Guntown, Miss. As schools reopen around the country, their ability to quickly identify and contain coronavirus outbreaks before they get out of hand is about to be put to the test. (Adam Robison/The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal via AP, File)
The Covid-19 pandemic has affected everyone over the course of the last eighteen months. One thing the pandemic has drastically changed is schools. Schools shut down and if they did go in person, they required masks for the 2020-2021 school year. Over the summer months it appeared that the pandemic was taking a turn for the better, so many schools made the decision to make masks optional. The effects of this decision are manifesting in many ways. Some schools have already been heavily impacted by their decision, other schools have hardly felt any effects, and the CDC is urging for immediate change.
One school in particular feeling the effects of their decision is Maconaquah School Corporation. With more than 80 positive cases and up to 64.5% of the children sent home for contact tracing, Macanoquah was forced to shut down their school cooperation until August 27, 2021. The cooperation had chosen to make masks optional for the students and staff at Maconaquah. Within a week, the number of COVID positive students skyrocketed. At this time, the board is still very unsure of what their next move will be.
Other schools, such as Lewis Cass, have hardly felt the effects of a mask optional school year. Many schools in Howard County have also made masks optional this school year. However, this decision was highly unadvised by the CDC and the county health nursing manager for the health department. So far, no Howard County schools have had to shut down, but cases around the county are still rising rapidly.
With the number of COVID cases rapidly increasing once again, the CDC is urging schools to make masks mandatory. While they can’t enforce another mandate, they are doing everything in their power to ensure people are informed of the dire consequences of not wearing masks and not getting vaccinated. Along with urging masks, the CDC is urging those eligible to get vaccinated as soon as they can.
The direction of the pandemic is up to the public. We all have personal decisions to make, wearing a mask, getting vaccinated, staying socially distanced when possible, or not doing any of these, that can help decide the direction of the pandemic. One thing schools can do to help the general public is require masks, however the decision is ultimately the boards’ to make.
In conclusion, there are many decisions to be made at this time. Maconaquah chose not to mask up and is now shut down until August 27. Howard County schools made the same decision as Maconaquah, but they haven’t felt any effects as intensely as Maconaquah. The CDC is urging masks and vaccines, but can’t enforce anything. The direction of the pandemic is up to us as individuals, and us as the general public.
Gannon Davis • Sep 7, 2021 at 9:05 am
This was a great source for the school to take a look at about how other schools have been handling the covid cases that have come upon them. Faith, you did a great job with going through some of the issues that other schools have had. I think it’s crazy to see what Maconaquah has gone through. It seems coronavirus hit them really hard once the school year begun. This was an excellent read to catch up on the news!
Reshma Green • Aug 31, 2021 at 1:29 pm
I like the fact that somebody actually wrote about Covid and what it is doing to other schools. It gives everybody who doesn’t do sports or extracurricular activities a chance to see what is happening in other schools and what is going on with our local cites and small towns.
Brailyn Adams • Aug 31, 2021 at 12:27 pm
Great article, I loved how you put all of the information in this article about how school had the decision to let kids choose if they wanted to wear masks or not and how the effect of not wearing them is showing.
Braylee Pierce • Aug 31, 2021 at 10:46 am
Faith, I really like your article, it gave me a little more perspective about my decisions and feelings on the matter. You did an amzing job informing us about how wearing a mask or not and being vacinated can change the school year. Your article has me wanting to do more research about the topic on my own time. Great job.
Braylee Pierce • Aug 31, 2021 at 10:46 am
Faith, I really likes your article, it gave me a little more perspective about my decisions and feelings on the matter. You did an amzing job informing us about how wearing a mask or not and being vacinated can change the school year. Your article has me wanting to do more research about the topic on my own time. Great job.
Wyatt Friskey • Aug 31, 2021 at 9:15 am
Good job on the article. I like how you were so specific that you actually mentioned a school that has shut down.
Trey Johnson • Aug 31, 2021 at 9:12 am
Great article, it included a lot of details about schools and there mask policies.
Elijah Beard • Aug 25, 2021 at 11:17 am
Good job on the article Faith. I agree that we individuals have a controlling factor in how the pandemic spreads or is stopped. I also like how you compared and contrasted our school vs other schools problems with our mask optional policy.