Salem Schools To 'Double Down' On Mask Wearing In Buildings

SALEM, MA — As Salem prepares for the influx of tens of thousands of Halloween tourists in October, Superintendent of Schools Steve Zrike said the district is looking to "double down" on the health and safety protocols in place inside school buildings and transportation.

"We are tightening up our health expectations in our schools," he said during his weekly Facebook Live session with families. "Above and beyond, we need to tighten up when it comes to masking. Our mask compliance has been pretty good, but we do see that there's been some complacency. I have to say that we could be better."

Acknowledging that "there's obvious fatigue" Zrike cautioned there is still a lot of COVID in the community. Two classrooms of students at Witchcraft Heights Elementary School were in quarantine as of Thursday after multiple coronavirus cases were found among students in those classes.

"While children are lower risk they are still certainly at risk," he said. "We can't predict who is going to get severely ill or not and there are definitely risk factors when children get COVID."

He said there will also be a re-emphasis on keeping classroom windows open even as it gets colder and keeping HEPA filters on in the classrooms.

He added that any parents with concerns about non-compliance with masking and having windows down on buses should contact the schools so administrators can contact the bus company.

"We all need to step up as a community," he said. "Nobody should feel offended if someone reminds them (about the coronavirus protocols). Sometimes I need a reminder. We all need to be open to that."

He said the "tightening up" on compliance goes for both students and teachers.

Zrike said there will also be a push for all eligible middle schoolers and high schoolers to get the coronavirus vaccine in the coming weeks — which will include vaccination incentives. He added that when the vaccine is approved for emergency use among 5- to 11-year-olds he wants to have vaccine clinics at the schools.

"That is our hope to do it in schools and to do it on-site," he said. "Obviously, parents would have to provide consent."

He also said there have "been discussions" about potentially making the coronavirus vaccination mandatory for all students. Amherst Regional School District on Thursday became the first in the state to make the vaccine mandatory to attend classes.

"I also think the state may weigh in on to what extent the COVID shot is mandatory," he said. "There have been discussions that there might be some conversations about that either at the local level or the state level."

Did you find this article useful? Invite a friend to subscribe to Patch.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)