Highlands superintendent urges students to wear masks prior to state mandate

Face masks remain optional in Highlands School District through Sept. 7, when a mandate requiring the wearing of masks in schools takes effect, but Superintendent Monique Mawhinney is urging families to have their children begin wearing them now.

A message was sent to district families early Wednesday regarding Gov. Tom Wolf’s mask mandate for public school students in all grades, which goes into effect Tuesday.

“The district is highly recommending that your children begin wearing a mask immediately,” Mawhinney said, adding that she realizes face coverings are an emotional issue.

“It was so refreshing to see (students’) smiling faces as we opened our school doors to them as a group for the first time in over a year. Unfortunately, the covid pandemic continues to play a major factor in planning for the health and safety of our students and staff,” she said.

The state’s order covers schools, early learning programs and child care facilities.

The exception to the mandate is sports and related practices, whether indoors or outdoors. It is up to the district to determine expectations for spectators.

Acting Secretary of Health Alison Beam said cases among children up to 17 have risen 277% between mid-July and Aug. 20.

She said more than 5,000 Pennsylvania students have tested positive for the virus since schools began reopening.

Earlier this week, Riverview School District canceled its non-section football game Friday at Chartiers-Houston because of multiple cases of covid-19 on the varsity team.

Butler School District also called off its game scheduled for Friday because of covid-19 cases within its program.

Allegheny County is currently in the high level of covid-19 transmission, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

That means there have been more than 100 cases per 100,000 people or a 10% test positivity rate over the past seven days.

Mawhinney said the district is monitoring the number of covid-19 cases locally and is working with the county health department to implement the proper quarantine guidelines.

The district does not post a covid-19 dashboard on its website but offers information on safety protocols like cleaning, social distancing and quarantine guidance.

In August, the school board voted to keep masking optional for students, staff and visitors when classes started on Aug. 26.

At that time, Mawhinney said school superintendents have expressed frustration with county and state health experts about leaving educators to make medical decisions.

“I will promise you we will do whatever we can to keep our kids safe,” she said.

Following Wolf’s mandate, Mawhinney said she knew masks have become a controversial issue and that everyone has their own beliefs.

“Let’s put those beliefs aside, adhere to the mandate and focus on the fact that our children are back in school getting the education they so rightfully deserve,” she said.

“I’ve seen this community put their differences aside countless times for the sake of our children, so I am confident we will continue to do the same to get through this covid pandemic.”