BRINGING A MESSAGE
Governor defends mask mandate as tool to keep kids in schools
NORRISTOWN >> Gov. Tom Wolf and education officials from across the state stopped in Norristown Wednesday afternoon with a simple message: “The goal this year is not just to start the year with kids in school. It’s to keep the kids in school throughout this year.”
“Our kids want to see their friends again. They want to play sports. They want to participate in the activities that help them build skills. They want to connect with their peers, inside school. And that’s why we want to keep kids in the classroom this year,” Wolf said.
Last week Wolf’s administration issued an order that all students, staff and visitors at schools in the state are required to wear masks indoors, regardless of vaccination status, a mask mandate that took effect Tuesday. Speaking alongside masked teachers, administrators and lawmakers at Hancock Elementary School in Norristown Wednesday afternoon, Wolf made the case for the mandate.
“I want to thank everyone here — the school district, the volunteers, the community members, who stepped up to help the community, and your neighbors, in this time of need,” Wolf said.
“And that’s basically what the school district and schools have done throughout this pandemic,” he said.
The governor outlined what he termed “four key resources” meant to help keep students in schools: the mask order, testing, vaccinations, and increased funding via federal COVID relief money.
“Let’s start with masks: Masks are one of the best tools we have to keep students in the classrooms, and COVID out,” he said.
“That’s why masks are now required in Pennsylvania schools. Masks protect each child, and they also reduce the risk that entire classrooms are going to need to quarantine due to positive COVID-19 cases. And that means more time in the classroom,” Wolf said.
State officials have worked with local districts to provide COVID vaccination clinics and testing, and the federal American Rescue Plan funding distributed over $4.9 billion to schools in the state. This year’s state budget added education funding including a “Level-up” initiative meant to reduce inequity in education funding “for Pennsylvania’s 100-mostunderfudned schools, and Norristown School District is one of those,” receiving $1 million via that program, Wolf said.
“Safe learning in schools is possible because of the things we’ve done to help protect students, teachers and the greater community. Now we need the help of the public,” Wolf said. “By working together, we can keep COVID out of our schools, and we can keep our students in our schools.”
State Sen. Amanda Cappelletti, D-17th, thanked Wolf for the visit and said she felt the district “has taken every step imaginable to ensure a safe return to in-person schooling for everyone — including passing a masking mandate prior to the statewide order.”
“The science here is clear. The delta variant is highly transmissible, and incredibly dangerous to those who have not been vaccinated, many of whom are children too young to receive this vaccine, many of whom are in this building right now,” Cappelletti said.
State Rep. Matt Bradford, D-70th, also thanked Wolf and the district’s school board for their leadership.
“It turns out, getting kids in school is easy. It’s hard to keep them in school. We need to do the hard work here, to continue the message which is very clear,” he said.
“We need masks in school right now. Listen, this isn’t what any of us want, but unfortunately this is what public health requires right now,” he said.
Rich Askey, president of the Pennsylvania State Education Association, said he was proud to be inside “a school building alive with students and teachers, together in person. We know this is the best learning environment for our students. It’s also where PSEA members want to be, more than anywhere else — in the classroom, five days a week, teaching their students.”
“We’re going to need every minute, because frankly we have a lot of work to do with our kids right now. After 18 months of this pandemic, our students are facing learning delays, and mental health needs, that cannot simply be ignored,” Askey said, adding, “We want to get kids back on track academically.”
National Education Association President Becky Pringle, of Philadelphia, added that, as a longtime middle school science teacher, she felt Wolf knew “how important it is to work with educators to keep our students safe.”
“The most basic of those rights is our students’ right to be safe from this pandemic. And we know what it is. I’m a science teacher, I’ve been saying all year: follow the science, follow the science, follow the science,” she said.
“We know that vaccines work. Get a vaccination! We know that masks save lives, put the d-...your mask on!” she said, drawing chuckles and applause from the crowd of educators and lawmakers.
“We must do what we know is right, so we are worthy of our students. We know what we must do, not only to keep them safe, but to take this moment to finally deal with the systemic inequities that exist throughout all of our social systems, that compound on our students, and impact their ability to learn. Together, we can and we will do what’s right,” Pringle said.
Lee Speers, a Norristown High School physics teacher and head of the district’s teachers union, said district teachers were surveyed at the start of last year about what would make them feel most safe, and the answer was a vaccine, which he thanked Wolf for distributing to educators early on.
“Keeping our buildings open, working with our children, feeding our children, getting our children to and from school safety, has been a challenge. And they have truly stepped up and met that challenge,” he said.
“We are not done with this pandemic yet, but we are on the right path. And while the association and the district might not always agree on things, we can certainly agree that the number one priority is the health and safety of our children, our staff and our community,” Speers said.
Superintendent Christopher Dormer thanked Wolf for his visit, and his leadership, saying the district was “fortunate to have a governor who has taken that charge seriously” of protecting the lives of all Pennsylvanians.
“One thing was certain: the Norristown Area School District was going to provide the very best educational program for our students, families and community,” he said, recalling the statewide school shutdown in March 2020.
After a year of virtual learning and with virus transmission statistics dropping, the district returned to in-person learning in April 2021, and plans to stay that way.
“Today, we stand here, day four of the 2021-22 schoolyear, and I’m proud to announce that Norristown Area School District is operating a full, in-person instructional program, five days a week. We’re confident we can safely offer this type of learning, because this is what we do best,” he said.
Hancock Elementary Principal Brooke Vaught added that she and staff have worked hard to teach kids through two school years impacted by the pandemic, and are ready for a third, despite last week’s flooding.
“While there have been challenges, there is always a silver lining. And that is that our students are resilient,” she said. “Our teachers and staff feel safer with a mask mandate for all, and we thank you for your leadership.”
And state Secretary of Education Noe Ortega thanked the students and staff for their patience and for their efforts.
“We must do everything possible to minimize transmission of COVID-19 in our schools, so they can remain open for in-person teaching, learning and growing this year,” he said.
“We know classrooms and schools are places where students learn, but they’re also much more than that. They’re spaces where students have access to healthy meals, important relationships, and essential services that support their social and emotional wellbeing and development. We cannot — scratch that, we will not — let COVID-19 change that,” Ortega said.
In response to questions, Wolf said he applauded the courage of districts like Norristown that had passed mask mandates before the state’s order.
“One of the things that’s helpful about a statewide mask mandate, is that everybody has to do it. It’s something that all school districts have to do, so I’m hoping one of the things it does is give some backing to those good school districts that have already done that,” Wolf said.
A second question asked what Wolf would say, and if there would be consequences for, parents and districts that disagree with, and won’t follow, the mask mandate.
“So far, I don’t think that there are a whole lot of school districts that have signaled that. And I don’t think there are a whole lot of parents who don’t want to keep their children safe,” Wolf said.
“The strategy in Pennsylvania
is the vaccine. Kids 12 and under cannot get the vaccine. What do you do? We can say, we’re not going to let them come back into the classroom, or we can do everything we can to keep them safe and keep them in the classroom, and that’s what we’ve chosen to do,” he said.
Ortega added that he’s seen “a lot of great behavior” from those who comply with the order, and regarding repercussions, “we’ve been focused on the incentives,” including staying in classrooms while masks are required.
“School leaders know that this is a mandate that’s coming from the secretary of health, and it’s important for them to follow for the purposes of establishing a safe and healthy learning environment,” he said.
Have schools been given any directive about discipline for students who come to schools without masks?
“What we’ve encouraged all of the schools to do is to follow the same protocols that they would use when they implement other directives for students in the classroom,” Ortega said.
“Schools are constantly trying to put in place policies that keep order in schools, and also provide for safe learning spaces. And so our guidance to them has been to follow what’s been in place,” he said.
Regarding a legal challenge to the mask order, Wolf said he felt the mandate was well within the administration’s powers.
“I’m not a lawyer, but if she didn’t have the power to do that, then I suspect the Department of Health doesn’t have the power to do all the other things the Department of Health does to keep people safe, like make sure that kitchens are clean, cafeterias are clean, making sure we follow healthy practices, and doing the things that have to be done to keep people safe,” Wolf said. “If you can’t do this order, I’m not sure how you justify doing anything else. I don’t get it.”