Mohave Accelerated Learning Center had a visit from our amazing Bullhead City Fire Department today teaching them about fire prevention and how to stay safe in case of a fire. Just the fact that they get to come into the classroom is wonderful, but there is also something else happening in this picture. Smiling faces! Today was the first day that a Bullhead City school allowed the kids to remove their masks. A High School Teacher from MALC said, "It was so fun seeing smiles ALL day long!"
Look at all the joy in this room! The past year has been hard on everyone especially teachers and students who have struggled under so many changing and moving pieces of this pandemic.
I went to lunch with my friend today whose son goes to MALC and she told him this morning that he didn't have to wear his mask. She said, "You should have seen his face, he was so excited." Young children are resilient and have taken a lot of this in stride, perhaps even being more compliant than adults at some points.
In July I was going into the donut shop and my 2 year old said, "Mom, don't forget your mask." I understand that there are people that have very strong feelings about masks and that they either work or they don't.
Either way you feel about it, Monday night at 4:00 PM Gov. Ducey said that K-12 schools didn't have to mandate that their students wear masks any more. This was a literal breath of fresh air to many parents and students alike. However the Bullhead City district schools put out a statement at 5:30 PM that same Monday evening that they were still requiring masks.
I reached out to their PIO Lance Ross this evening and he told me
"That it is up to the school boards and whether they're going to discuss it at upcoming meetings. It isn't something that the superintendents or staff can arbitrarily change. The next BCSD meeting is scheduled for 5/13. The next CRUHSD meeting is scheduled for 5/17, though there could be a special CRUHSD meeting before that because of workload." I asked if the mask removal would be on the agenda and he said, "Agendas are normally finalized 24-48 hours before a meeting, which is when I post them on Facebook"
The last day of school is May 20th so even if they do decide to allow the students to be without masks it would only be for the last week of school for the Elementary and just a couple of days for the High Schoolers, but then the high schoolers wouldn't have to wear them to graduation so there is something.
Charter schools like Mohave Accelerated don't fall under the jurisdiction on the BCSD. Also YSA (Young Scholars' in Fort Mohave) is on their Spring Break right now as they are a year round school and they had had their normal board meeting before Ducey's removal of the mandate, so not sure what will happen there.
Another charter school Desert Star in Fort Mohave is leaving the decision up to the parents and students if they want to wear one they can or they don't have to.
Arizona's Superintendent Kathy Hoffman has been very vocal about her dislike for the decision by Gov. Ducey. as you can see here. This was posted today.
What are your thoughts about this issue? Do you have children in school here and if so do you want them to be able to not wear a mask? Perhaps you want them to? Maybe you just want to be able to make that decision for yourself. Either way I would love to hear your thoughts.