Private religious schools guard against COVID-19 as a new school year begins
A father and son arrived at a local private Christian school for a much-anticipated visit.
Vincent Espinoza had enrolled as a freshman at Mount St. Mary Catholic High School and was already attending classes, but he and his dad, both wearing masks, showed up for another important reason.
Monday, the two went to the school, 2801 S Shartel, to get their second dose of a COVID-19 vaccine during an Oklahoma City-County Health mobile COVID-19 vaccination clinic hosted there.
“I’m already in school, around a lot of people,” Vincent said. “I feel better and safer knowing that I have the vaccine.”
His father, Fernando Espinoza, shared similar comments.
“It made it very convenient to be able to come and to have it on (school) property. The facility is very nice and it serves us well,” he said of the vaccination clinic. “There’s a peace of mind knowing that he’s going back to school. It gives a sense of security, peace of mind.”
Mount St. Mary was among several private religious schools that recently began a new school season while guarding against COVID-19. Besides the south Oklaho
ma City Catholic school, others included Cristo Rey Catholic High School, Casady School, Oklahoma Christian School and Bishop McGuiness Catholic High School.
Several of the schools that are requiring that masks be worn to limit the spread of the virus include Casady, Cristo Rey and a Rosary School, a Catholic school offering classes for early childhood through eighth grade that is affiliated with St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church, 1919 NW 18.
“There is nothing more important to Cristo Rey than the safety and well-being of our students, parents/guardians, teachers, employees, and communities,” said Becca Giles, Cristo Rey-OKC’s marketing and development manager. “We continue to actively monitor the threat of COVID-19, are abiding by CDC guidelines, and are continuing to do everything we can to prepare for and prevent its effects by following our COVID-19 guiding principles.”
Leaders at other private schools said they are strongly encouraging masks but they are not requiring that they be worn. Other precautions are being taken to battle the virus, they said.
Talita DeNegri, principal at Mount St. Mary, said the recent clinic was one way the school offered support to the students and the community at large. She said about 98 percent of the faculty is vaccinated and about more than half of the student body is vaccinated.
Regarding masks, instead of a mandate, school leaders are emphasizing how the personal protection equipment is a caring approach to others.
“At this time, we feel the best approach, at the moment, is to have masks optional, but then again strongly encouraging everyone — let’s be caretakers of one another and let’s just wear our masks, regardless of whether you are vaccinated or not,” DeNegri said.
Other health precautions at the school included are the addition of air purifiers for every classroom and every office. DeNegri said they have also ordered UVC sanitizing towers that are used in hospitals to sanitize rooms. She said those machines will be be placed in the gymnasium, football locker room and the school’s main building.
Like Mount St. Mary, Giles said Cristo Rey also hosted a COVID-19 vaccination clinic in August and another clinic is planned to offer the second dose to those who participated in the first clinic. She said the school on the campus of Oklahoma State University-Oklahoma City, 900 N Portland, is not requiring COVID-19 vaccinations but they are strongly encouraged and supported by leadership.
COVID-19 school rules
Al King, headmaster of Oklahoma Christian School, said his school at 4680 E Second is following protocols similar to those implemented last school year.
With the first full week of school completed, he said families are being forthright about exposure to COVID-19 and they are following the school’s quarantine procedures.
“Everybody wants to stay in school so they’re working with us,” King said.
At McGuinness, Headmaster David Morton said school leaders developed COVID-19 protocols with guidance from the school’s advisory council, teachers and a few parents.
He said masks are optional but strongly encouraged for those students who are not vaccinated and for teachers whether or not they have been vaccinated.
Morton said classes at the school, 801 NW 50, began on Aug. 11 and less than a handful of students have had confirmed cases of COVID-19 since then. He said about 14 students have had to be quarantined due to primary exposure to the virus, mostly from their homes, not the school.
There haven’t been any spikes or outbreaks that have caused them to change their protocols, so far.
“We have not seen an outbreak. We told our parents that we’re ready to pivot to masks if we see a spike and we need to,” Morton said.
“We just haven’t seen a spike that would cause a change in our current protocols. So far, so good.”