Chazy Super in favor of 'no mask' move
May 15—CHAZY — While a rulebook would need to accompany the CDC's newly relaxed face mask recommendations, Chazy Central School District Superintendent Scott Osborne says he's all in.
"That headline Thursday afternoon was certainly welcomed, by me at least," Osborne told the Press-Republican Friday. "It certainly gives us a light at the end of the tunnel when we're looking at what has been 18 months of really adverse conditions to try and educate children properly.
"I professionally am in favor of whatever gets our school back open and gets our students and teachers in the same room again, because really that is the most optimum condition, for me, for public education; that's what we believe."
AWAITS STATE
The Centers for Disease and Control Prevention (CDC) Thursday released updated mask recommendations for fully vaccinated peoples.
The guidelines detailed some venues where masks would no longer be mandated for such individuals, including at schools. They were still suggested for non-vaccinated individuals, those with health concerns and in crowded indoor settings, including buses.
Though issued by the CDC this week, the guidelines await state approval before New York implementation.
"(Gov. Andrew M.) Cuomo continues to talk about relying on the facts, relying on the science to guide us and I understand that," Osborne noted. "I'm hoping that the NYS Department of Health can give us some amended guidance."
IN FAVOR
While Osborne said it was unclear what schools would look like by the fall, he said he was widely in favor of lifting Chazy Central's mask requirement.
"The immediate positive of not wearing a mask would certainly mean that we can get back to a normal class size," he said. "I think social distancing and masks go hand in hand.
"Now that we're looking at not having to wear masks, hopefully that really is a key logistic to bring our class sizes to be more in line, or get back to using our physical spaces more efficiently."
Plus, having masks on for an entire day with minimal breaks was "wearing on kids," he added.
"So much is dynamic about the classroom, including voice, voice inflection, the tone of the teacher, the tone of the students, facial expressions — that nonverbal communication is such an important part of the art and science of teaching," the superintendent said.
"It's a communication method and we've lost that. Certainly for me, getting back to a normal classroom set up is important, but then there are also those nonverbal cues that really enrich the relationship and the mask, kind of, prevents that."
CONCERNS
Osborne did note that enforcement could be tricky.
"I think one of the things that is concerning to me on the surface is how are we going to tell? Are we going to be OK with seeing somebody without a mask and living under the assumption that they are vaccinated?" he wondered.
"It will be interesting to see how this is going to be governed or accountability-checked."
While the CDC voted this week to recommend Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine for use in kids ages 12 to 15, younger children were still not eligible, seemingly exempting those kids from any possible mask guidance.
"We were, as a school in Chazy, very excited with the recent move to go down to age 12," Osborne said. "We immediately reached out to Clinton County Health Department and implored them that we would be happy to host a vaccination clinic, so I'm looking forward to working with them on that.
"I'm hoping that the age group does get expanded downward toward age 8."
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Twitter: @McKenzieDelisle
