Face masks, increased testing at Maynard Public Schools help keep kids, staff in school

Face masks and COVID testing are just part of the day at Maynard Public Schools.

But mask wearing, in particular, is not easy, said Brian Haas, superintendent of schools.

Because of the ongoing threat from the COVID-19 pandemic, Massachusetts Education Commissioner Jeffrey Riley mandated everyone in public schools wear face masks at least until Oct. 31. Schools that have met an 80% COVID-19 vaccination rate for both students and staff members can apply for a waiver. 

Fowler and Green Meadow schools won’t be able to meet the threshold until the vaccine is approved for children younger than 12. As of Oct. 13, Maynard High School did not qualify for the waiver, as more than 80% of staff members have been vaccinated, but only about 73% of students, Haas said.

For the most part, people have been following the rules and wearing face masks, he said, with minimal disruption.

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Teachers give students mask breaks at least twice a day, going outside when it’s feasible and opening windows to allow for better air circulation.

“I give the teachers a lot of credit for sticking with it. It’s hard,” Haas said.

He hadn’t fully realized just how difficult it was to teach a classroom full of students wearing masks, until opening day of school.

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He was on stage at the Fowler School auditorium, giving his introduction for the year. In front of him, in the audience, was a sea of eyes peering above the masks.

“Everyone is masked, including me up on stage. And I realize I can’t read the room. I have no idea if people were smiling or bored under their masks. It went fine but it was very difficult to modulate that,” Haas said.

Wearing a mask all day can also wear on people, he said. He is quick to add that he is not advocating for masks to come off, but they do try to do extra things for teachers, such as offering coffee and sweets on Fridays, to help build up morale.

“I don’t know that everybody fully understands how much harder the job is [with masks],” he said.

Testing at the forefront

COVID testing has also played a big part in keeping kids in school. The Maynard Public Schools are participating in the “test and stay” program. A full-time staff person from CIC Health is on board for the school year, providing testing services for students and staff. The program is offered through the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education at no cost.

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The test provider administers a COVID test to anyone who is symptomatic and those who have been in close contact with that person. Those who test negative are allowed to remain in school without quarantining, which allows more kids to remain in the classrooms, Haas said.

“They are doing a lot of testing,” he said.

At some point, they hope to be able to conduct pool testing, but CIC Health does not have the staff to implement the program yet.

So far, they have had fewer than 10 positive cases of COVID-19, and most of those have originated outside the schools, Haas said.

“At the end of summer we were very concerned about the Delta variant but the protocols seem to be working well,” he said.