jwhittaker@post-journal.com
State guidance aimed at getting more students back into school is making life harder for the Clymer Central School District.
On April 10, state officials revised the guidance on social distancing for schools. The revised state guidelines allow for at least 3 feet of distance between students in elementary, middle and high school classrooms in counties with a low or moderate risk of transmission. In counties where infection rates are high, middle and high schools should still aim for 6 feet of distancing unless they can maintain “cohorting,” where groups of students remain together through the day.
At the same time, the state changed its guidance on mask wearing in school. For Clymer Central School students, that means now wearing masks all day instead of just when they are moving around the building even though the district has been open five days a week with more than 90% of its students attending with the more relaxed mask guidelines. The district’s previous policy also more closely matched community feedback received last year as part of community school reopening surveys required by the state.