Pagosa Schools Deal with New ‘Mask’ Guidance

On Friday, May 14, Archuleta School District Superintendent Kym LeBlanc-Esparza sent out her regular memo, which included the following comment on the District’s ever-evolving COVID mask policy:

CDC Mask Guidance
I am confident you all saw the CDC announcement, the President’s announcement and a slew of other media outlet stories about the CDC’s change in guidance around masks for those of us who are vaccinated.  They did clarify that there are settings that still need masks, such as hospitals, all national airports, etc.  They did not however state schools…. BUT, our Governor held a press conference this afternoon regarding masks…..According to Governor Polis, if you are vaccinated, you are no longer required to wear a mask. If you are not vaccinated, it is still recommended, but will no longer be required. This applies to MOST settings, but exceptions are hospitals, public transportation, correctional facilities and SCHOOLS.

School guidance is up to individual districts, according to the Governor. He did say that educators and staff who are vaccinated could be allowed to discontinue wearing masks; again, it is up to school districts according to the Governor.

So school leaders and I met today to discuss the Governor’s new guidance. We have decided we will honor the Governor’s direction. If you are vaccinated, you are no longer required to wear a mask at school. If you are not vaccinated, it is recommended that you continue to wear your mask, however we will not be addressing this choice, it is yours to make. We will apply this same logic to students, unless we are given mandates from local health authorities that cause us to change our plan. Right now the plan is to allow everyone to make the choice for themselves, but we recommend you continue to wear a mask if you are not vaccinated.

A few of the Archuleta School District bus drivers and staff. Photo courtesy ASD.

A couple of miles to the west, at the community’s District-authorized charter school — Pagosa Peak Open School — School Director Angela Reali-Crossland sent out her own memo to PPOS families:

Dear PPOS Families,

I have been wrestling with an issue since Friday, and I wanted to update you. In the last several days, there has been changing guidance from the CDC and the governor, specifically around masks. This guidance definitely is a confirmation that masks at PPOS will likely look a lot different next school year and that we are closer to removing our mask requirement.

The question I have been wrestling with is what to do with masks in our school. No matter what is decided, a group of people will not agree. Thus this feels like a no win situation.

After much thought and consideration, I want to let you know that PPOS will not have any change to our mask procedures at this time. Students age 11 and over and all staff will wear masks in the building, with mask breaks being given.

Let me share some of the rationale for this decision:

PPOS’s character traits include care and community. I have had several families decide to do in-person learning this year explicitly stating that they felt comfortable because of what we have in place to keep their families safe. It doesn’t feel like a caring act to make a decision mid-stream that members of our community were not expecting.

I very much want all in-person students to be able to finish the last weeks of the year at school and not in quarantine. So far this year we have not had any advisories go into quarantine. Our goal was to provide as much in person learning as possible and I would hate to have advisories that need to go into quarantine here as we approach the end of the school year.

The current guidance from the San Juan Basin Public Health Department still recommends masks in schools, even in elementary school.

The COVID positivity rate for Archuleta county is at 6%, which is a concern when trying to keep both students and their families safe.

I will continue to look at the situation and may possibly adjust our mask situation before the end of the school year. I do not expect that students will be in masks next school year. I expect that we will be able to have advisories interact again. I believe we will have more fieldwork opportunities and more opportunities to bring volunteers and parents into the building. That’s why a decision for our last few weeks was such a difficult one.

Thank you for working with us during such a strange and difficult school year. I know that “staying the course” for our last few weeks will bring different opinions. I just ask that you recognize that there was thought and consideration put into the decision.

This is a school year that none of us will ever forget. Thank you for being great collaborators. Our students have been able to thrive despite all of the obstacles.

Bill Hudson

Bill Hudson

Bill Hudson began sharing his opinions in the Pagosa Daily Post in 2004 and can’t seem to break the habit. He claims that, in Pagosa Springs, opinions are like pickup trucks: everybody has one.