The Anchorage School Board meets Monday in executive session at 4 pm, and in regular open session at 6 pm. The issue of the superintendent of schools removing the mask mandate when children return to campus in January may come up as a last-minute item at the regular meeting.
The board has received over 50 email public comments, with many of them asking the board to overrule the superintendent in her decision to make masks optional across the district.
Mail-in comments can be sent to the board through this link: https://www.asdk12.org/Page/1443
Sample of the public comments received include these chosen at random:
“My issue with the removal of the mandatory masking policy in our schools is the process by which it occurred. The super-authority granted to the superintendent to make these sorts of changes without school board input was created so that in the case of an emergency immediate action could be taken. No such emergency existed on Thursday, December 16. Covid-19 circumstances did not suddenly require unilateral action from the superintendent; Dr. Bishop should have briefed the school board of her proposed change, sought feedback, and allowed discussion.
I hope that whoever replaces our current superintendent is more respectful of the board, and that she or he will not abuse the power of the office to achieve an agenda that may or may not be in the best interest of our students. – Andrew Gray
My children do not need masks. They have more complications with wearing them such as bloody noses and asthma. They also have already had Covid and have immunity. It is a parents job to deem what is medically necessary for their children not the school board.
You are not to deem what is medically necessary for people’s children, only parents have the right for that. My kids have had Covid and have immunity. Masks are causing more harm to my children such as giving them constant bloody noses, headaches and asthma. I will pull them from school to place in private school as will many other parents and the ASD will lose even more funding. – Katherine Lucier
From direct observation of young children in my position leading nature hikes, the children are not bothered by wearing face masks. Many seem to prefer keeping them on even walking outside. Please keep in mind that many children are not vaccinated, and even if they are, they can carry the virus. Our incredible hard working school staff and teachers do not deserve to have the well being of themselves and their families compromised. Covid rates may be temporarily dipping, but the confusion of switching policies and the ongoing mutations of the virus make the action of unmasking in schools dangerous at best. With respect for the Superintendent, please consider overriding her dictate. – Sue May
It makes no sense to stop mandatory masking in schools for the spring semester- our health system is still trying to recover and masks have been shown to allow the spread of COVID19. Omicron is sweeping the nation, and with much higher infection rates we could see a significant uptick in cases. Lifting this policy now, only to reinstate it after we’re in a new world of hurt is very shortsided and not evidence based. Our schools have thousands of students and hundreds of teachers, the effect on the wider community is massive. Please continue to require masking in our schools. – Laura Herman
With rates of COVID doubling weekly in the Lower 48, schools closing, states enacting mask mandates and multiple hospitals reaching max capacity, now is NOT the time to end the mask mandate in our schools. Anchorage hospitals went on crisis care mode already – and that was before omicron.
Our three kids think it is SO much better than returning to online schooling. Students and staff are used to it now.
Please reverse Bishop’s poorly timed decision and keep masking in our schools, for all our sakes. – Kristiann Maclean
I am writing as a concerned Anchorage parent of two elementary school students in ASD and a community member. I was distressed to read the December 15 communication about the Superintendent’s desired transition to “parent-informed masking.” We should leave the public health decisions to public health professionals. For the younger students in our district, vaccination rates are very low (14%); masks are a proven way to minimize virus spread. Without masks, spread will be a problem and we will be back to closing classrooms and schools which is very disruptive to learning and family work schedules.
Students are already used to mandatory masking. I volunteer in my daughter’s kindergarten classroom and have been impressed with the normalcy of masking even among our youngest students. Making a rule that is not for everyone will be confusing for young children, and will put our vulnerable children and households at risk. Our kids have an immunosuppressed father and it feels much more stressful and risky to send them into school without masks.
The timing of this possible shift is also very distressing. Many families travel for holidays – bringing everyone back together again without masking is not appropriate or safe. The omicron variant is causing countries, universities, schools to fully close down. Removing our mask mandate at this time is very shortsighted and will have deadly impacts on our community. It is so distressing to so many of us in our community that these basic decisions about public health have become so politicized and so much misinformation is being spread. The guidance from health professionals is clear. Masks are an effective and easy tool to help control the spread of this deadly virus. Please protect our children, and our vulnerable family members, and all of us by keeping this mask mandate for our schools until such time as our rates and transmission is *low* (<5 / 100,000).
Thank you very much for your service and leadership. – Courtney Carothers, Parent of two elementary-aged students in ASD
As an ASD teacher assistant substitute working with an unvaccinated population in a pre-K classroom, I will no longer feel safe even though I am vaccinated. Pre-K students are very good at wearing masks, but don’t understand social distance. All these students will be more at risk if they contract covid. Also, as an effective assistant, I need to be close to them. Helping them open objects during lunch, getting outdoor gear on and off, working in small learning groups…we are always in close proximity. Mask wearing makes me feeler safer. With no mask mandate, I will have to step back from subbing. – Nancy Dunleavy
I am a mother with 4 children, 3 of which are enrolled in ASD. My older two have enjoyed a return to normal school year in middle and high school. We kept them home all of last year. My 3rd grader has recently been fully vaccinated and will return to school in January after having been home all first semester. My youngest child is not eligible for a vaccination and as a family we make great efforts and sacrifices to protect her from the virus.
The decision to make masks optional at this point does not make any sense whatsoever. Masks have been successful at keeping infections at bay in our schools. New variants are continuing to bludgeon our country and no one really knows what things will look like in two weeks, in a month, in two months. Why this decision was made this preemptively seems careless and ill advised.
Saying parents can make decisions on mask wearing for their child(ren) is ridiculous. Mask wearing is most effective if everyone wears a mask- and you all full well know this. Children will feel singled out and different if they are asked to mask and their own teachers or administrators aren’t even masking up, let alone their peers.
The community is tired of covid, yes. If numbers rise and more of our community falls ill and needs medical care then this will fall to the already overtaxed medical community to deal with. The school district should NOT contribute to this hardship in any way. Please make masking required of all staff, teachers and students in all ASD buildings. Thank you for your time, – Jolene Becke
I am writing in to vote for mask choice. This has gone on long enough. I am a kindergarten TA and see first hand how this is harming our children. I have three teenagers in the school district, and see the effects on those students as well. Vaccines are available for everyone who is in the system. Move on, please. – Monica Tovsen
Thanks to the school board and superintendent for calmly and intelligently working hard keeping our students safe during this pandemic.
Please keep doing the smart and safe thing by continuing the indoor mask policy that has been working so well. The vast majority our kids, including my own third grade son, think of indoor masking as an acceptable and reasonable way to protect themselves and others.
Please don’t take away that protection now as we enter the next phase of this pandemic with new and unknown threats related to the omicron variant.
Thank you again for all you do. The science-driven decisions you have made on behalf of our students and community have made this school year safer and more stable for all of Anchorage.
Keep up the good work by continuing to follow the science and public health recommendations. – Jimael Johnson
Mother of current ASD student
School board members: Thank you for your time and for hearing my concerns. I strongly disagree with the operational guideline from Dr. Deena Bishop that would make masks optional in ASD schoolsbeginning January 3, 2022. Why? Who benefits from this? Whose needs are being met here? Does this decision prioritize the best outcomes for all children and our community?
Health experts report a likely approaching wave of cases due to the Omicron variant of COVID-19. Furthermore, many families will be returning from travel after the holidays and/or will have been engaging with families and friends locally. I’ve heard that cases did not rise after Thanksgiving break, and this was cited as a reason to make masks optional. But masks were STILL REQUIRED in ASD buildings after Thanksgiving which may be one reason cases didn’t rise. Also, that break is shorter. Using that data for the Winter Break situation is flawed.
I am a parent of two children in ASD schools – a kindergartener and a second grader, the latter has asthma. Our family has been very COVID-cautious, because of my son’s asthma and because we have an infant at home. This decision for mask-optional gives us two terrible options: go to school where some people will be unmasked (even though my kids will mask, it isn’t very effective if others are not) or stay at home and transition to ASD virtual. My kids stayed virtual all last year (to protect our newborn) and were so happy to go back to school. I will have to make a decision to prioritize either my children’s physical health or their mental health. Why must we choose?
This timing is terrible. The proximity to Winter Break is poor, as I mentioned earlier. If we must change policy, why not give it two weeks to allow any travel cases to be identified, and then implement mask optional right after Martin Luther King, Junior day? Wouldn’t that be wise?
Also, for any family who wishes to vaccinate their 5-11-year-olds against COVID but have not yet done so for any reason, two weeks notice is not enough time for them to receive a full cycle of the vaccine and build adequate immunity. Why the rush? Why so little notice? Why such terrible timing, when we should be taking a break instead of scrambling to decide what to do for next semester?
Recently, I was speaking to an elder in a predominately Inupiat village in Northwest Alaska. (I am not using his name as he did not give express permission.) His village has been extremely careful and has had very few cases and none serious. When I remarked on this, he explained how the most important priority for them was to protect and care for the elders and the children. They’ve been so careful that even vaccinated people will often quarantine after travel, at an inconvenience to themselves.
Listen to your elders. Put the needs of children first, not political pressures or perceived inconvenience. Do the right thing. Alter this policy to give more time for cases to appear after break and for more children to get vaccinated, or better yet, keep the current mandate in place for third quarter and re-visit for fourth.
With gratitude and faith in your good sense and care for others, – The Rev. Lisa Smith Fiegel (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) Denali Montessori mom and PTSA board member
Please support Superintendent Bishop in allowing parent-informed masking when we return to school in January.
Transmission numbers in Anchorage are trending down and the Municipality of Anchorage’s (MOA) emergency order has been lifted. COVID-19 testing now shows a downward trend and cases in schools have remained low as well.
The COVID-19 vaccine has been readily available to all school-aged children for several months now, and the booster is available for those 16 and older.
Summer school was a success when masking was not required, and I know it will be a success for the rest of the school year.
Thank you for doing what is best for our children by allowing masking to be a choice! – Rachelle Pessetto
The Superintendent’s decision to make masks optional after winter break appears to be short sighted. European nations and US states on the east coast are seeing rapid growth in covid cases due to Omicron. We know that hospitalizations and deaths lag behind infections. Anchorage and Alaska just recently had record cases, hospitalizations, and deaths from the Delta variant. We finally are trending downward in numbers largely due to increase in community mask use and an influx of over 400 health professionals to deliver care at our hospitals. I don’t understand how Dr. Bishop feels we are suddenly in the clear on this pandemic and can ditch masks in schools. Information available does not support it. We should continue to be proactive to keep our kids in school, not reactive and more disruptive to their learning environment. My kids don’t mind the masks, they want to be in school. We have heard of the difficulties finding enough bus drivers and substitute teachers. I have to wonder how ASD plans to keep in person class going when teachers and staff are unable to attend in person due to covid infections and there’s no backup personnel. I hope the school board will push back on this short sighted plan for optional masking. We can see the next wave coming if we just look past our feet. Thank you! – Alecia Rathlin
The school board meets at the Anchorage School District Education Center, 5530 E Northern Lights Blvd Anchorage, and it has allowed for limited seating due to its rule relating to Covid mitigation. The meeting can be watched, with great limitations, at the board’s YouTube channel, ASD-TV at https://www.youtube.com/user/AnchorageSD
