Masks In Wayland Schools: Committee Votes To Go Optional

WAYLAND, MA — The Wayland School Committee this week approved a step-down in coronavirus protocols, including going mask-optional in March.

The mask issue has become a hot topic in Massachusetts over the past week after the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) announced it would drop its blanket mask requirement on Feb. 28. DESE's move gives individual districts the leeway to either keep or remove mask mandates.

Many school committees have already approved going mask-optional after Feb. 28, including Danvers, Worcester, Woburn and North Andover, among many others.

On Wednesday, the Wayland School Committee voted unanimously to go mask-optional starting March 7.

"It's not the date I would've chosen, but I do want to support moving in this direction," member Kim Reichelt said during the discussion. "I'm a very reluctant yes."

The district will also drop rules around physical distancing beginning March 7. On that date, there won't be any distancing requirement for any student in classrooms and cafeterias.

The School Committee did increase a requirement for students and staff returning to school after a coronavirus exposure starting March 7. Students and staff will have to isolate for five days, and take an antigen test before returning to school.

Assistant Superintendent Parry Graham told the committee that cases in schools have declined, and provided an update on vaccination rates in town schools to bolster the move away from masks:

• Claypit Hill School 79.5% fully vaccinated, 5% with one dose
• Happy Hollow School 77.5% fully vaccinated, 6% with one dose
• Loker Elementary 83% vaccinated, 2% with one dose
• Wayland Middle School 85.6% fully vaccinated, 3.4% with one dose
• Wayland High School 90.5% fully vaccinated, 2.5% with one dose

The district is also providing students and staff with at-home coronavirus test kits, and recommending they use them on Feb. 27 — the Sunday before school resumes after mid-winter break.

Masks will still be required on school buses and in school health offices. That's because there are federal and state rules that govern those spaces.