Rocky View Schools (RVS) students will not have to wear a mask this fall, unless they choose to do so.
During a special board meeting on Aug. 26, the RVS Board of Trustees proceeded with a motion recommending masks would be worn on a voluntary basis when students and staff return to class in September.
At the tail end of a nearly two-hour meeting, the board voted 7-1 in favour of the motion, with Ward 3 Trustee Melyssa Bowen providing the sole vote in opposition.
“Having surpassed 1,000 [daily new] cases in our province, I’m concerned for us to return to pre-pandemic operations, and I will not be supporting the motion,” Bowen said before the vote, adding other school divisions and post-secondary institutions have opted to go above and beyond government recommendations.
“[Both sides] want students to have as normal a school year as possible and I think we just disagree on what actions will achieve that.”
While the Alberta government does not currently have a mask requirement in schools for the upcoming school year, many school divisions, including the Calgary Board of Education and Calgary Catholic School District, have chosen to mandate masks in schools this fall.
RVS has instead opted to align its return-to-school plan with the Alberta government’s recommendations, which include voluntary face-masking and enhanced cleaning protocols. According to an RVS press release issued after the meeting, the district’s plan aligns with the Government of Alberta’s 2021-22 School Year Plan, which was released on Aug. 13.
“I think from the very beginning, RVS’ approach has been to follow the advice from the chief medical officer of health, so I feel that what has been captured in the return to school operational plan as well as the contingency plan is consistent with that approach,” said Norma Lang, trustee for Ward 4.
RVS has also developed two contingency plans in the event of a return to restrictive health mandates, including a plan with enhanced health measures, and one accommodating a return to at-home learning.
Lang said the situation has been dynamic and the board has had to act quickly in response to an evolving pandemic, which has seen the active number of cases, hospitalizations and outbreaks rise and fall.
“We have had to respond constantly to changing circumstances and one thing I think we can count on is that [changing circumstances] will not change, at least for the first few months of school,” she said.
The trustee added RVS’ return to school plan creates a space for a response to “emerging circumstances and an evolving pandemic,” allowing the board some leeway to respond to an outbreak at an individual level.
“This is not an all-or-nothing approach, this is a way to open schools across the division, and then give us the flexibility and latitude to make changes on a school-by-school basis, with direction from medical experts as the situation requires,” she said.
Similarly, Ward 1 Trustee Shali Baziuk said the opportunity for a site-based approach to an outbreak allows the division to make changes and adjust its plan based on circumstances in the community.
“This isn’t just painting a brush over all of RVS as one and the same,” Baziuk said. “I think it’s important where possible to give parents choice and I believe this plan gives that – it gives us the best of both worlds.”
Baziuk added she has received heartfelt letters from parents making a case for and against masking in schools, and hopes to support all families with the return to school plan.
“I don’t have the right answer,” she said. “I believe the best decision that I can make is to not force a decision on people and rather allow people to not wear masks at school, if that’s the choice their family makes, and the opposite is true if someone chooses to wear a mask.
“This plan seems to contemplate all aspects of making schools a safe and welcoming place for students.”
RVS’ return to school plan includes COVID-19 protocols which were put in place by the division previously, including a daily health checklist prior to coming to school, telling students and staff to stay home when sick, promoting regular hand-washing and respiratory etiquette, enhanced ventilation measures, and enhanced cleaning and disinfecting in schools.
Patty Sproule, Ward 2 Trustee, said her personal feelings of unease with the direction the provincial government has set out with regards to a reduction in public health measures, along with concern from parents in her district, have made the decision not to mandate masks a difficult one.
“I have heard from more parents in the last week regarding this issue than I have heard about anything else in the past four years,” she said. “I am left to concede that we as a board made a conscious and well-thought-out decision to follow the direction of the chief medical officer throughout the ups and the downs of the pandemic.
“While I am personally uncomfortable with the current reduction in restrictions, this is not about me. And while many parents have the same misgivings as I do, an equal number feel very strongly that this direction is what their children desperately need.”
Beginning this fall, many health restrictions will be lifted in schools compared to last year, including mandatory masking, cohorting and physical distancing requirements. Many events will reconvene, including school assemblies, graduation ceremonies, and sporting events. The use of school lockers will also be allowed once again.
In line with the government’s requirements, close contacts will no longer be required to isolate and may return to school as long as they do not show symptoms or have not been advised otherwise by Alberta Health Services.
Fiona Gilbert, Ward 6 trustee and board chair, said the board will be referring back to medical experts in the coming months to determine if a new path forward is needed.
“Our scope and our expertise are in educating students and creating an environment that encourages students to learn and achieve their absolute best,” she said. “We rely on the expertise of others in matters outside of this scope and whether we personally agree or not, we need to rely on [the chief medical director’s] direction and guidance to make health related decisions in our public schools.”
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