Despite ongoing debates about masks on social media and in local public forums, Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. said the first day of its return to an indoor mask requirement went smoothly.
“It can be a tough transition going back to masks,” said Communications Coordinator Josh Burnett. “Obviously a hard decision for the school board the other night and quite a bit of noise just with those for and against, as well as a lot of chatter on social media, but as we’ve talked to our buildings, it’s going really well.”
The school board approved a revised reopening plan, which includes required masking indoors, on Monday. The new protocols went into effect Wednesday. Superintendent Jim Roberts cited concerning local COVID-19 trends in a public statement about the decision, as well as internal case counts.
Burnett said that BCSC didn’t have any major problems on Wednesday with students showing up to buses or schools without masks — and, in general, they did not see issues with mask violations.
“With all of our students, we have been doing the best we can to work with families,” he said. “… From day one, our bus drivers have been doing a great job if kids forgot them or if they slipped off, to just gently remind them. We’ve had really good compliance there.”
He also said that teachers and principals are also doing a “great job” of working with parents as they transition back to masks.
There was no significant change in attendance or enrollment Wednesday, Burnett said.
While there were rumors on social media about plans for walkouts at both East and North High Schools, principals said that, to their knowledge, none took place.
“I heard rumors but did not see evidence to support any walkouts today,” said North Principal David Clark. “There were no overt attempts. We do have students coming and going all day long for a variety of reasons.”
There is also talk of a possible parent protest at the BCSC administration building at 8 a.m. on Friday, according to a Change.org petition created by Tasha Price. The petition, labeled “Unmask our children” was created Wednesday morning and had over 140 online signatures as of that afternoon.
“We are the voice of our children,” Price stated in her petition. “They cannot speak up for themselves and they deserve to be heard. Sign this petition and support our children’s rights to go unmasked.”
