Peabody Eases Mask Mandates For School Summer Programs

PEABODY, MA — As much as Peabody Superintendent of Schools Dr. Josh Vadala said he was impressed with how teachers, students and families navigated the year of immense coronavirus disruption, he was most happy late this spring with the return of full-time, in-classroom learning, as well as in-person graduation and moving-on ceremonies, that allowed everyone to enjoy school more the way they always knew it before the pandemic.

"Those were really important to us," Vadala told Patch. "We needed as many experiences as we could to normalize our interactions coming out of the pandemic. Going back in the classroom full-time, and being part of those seminal events together, gave the kids that feeling that it's OK to be around each other again and get back to these traditions that are important to us.

"Those brought a lot of positivity and hope back to what we're doing and will really set us up for success in the fall."

As part of continuing that progress, Vadala told Patch the district has made masks optional for all school summer programs in anticipation of a start to the fall that will hopefully look and feel a lot more like it did two years ago.

"The (virus) numbers in the community are down so we have taken that step," Vadala said. "If you are more comfortable wearing a mask, we will allow it, but we're not requiring it.

"It's taking these little steps ahead of the school year. We felt comfortable with the numbers in our community that we wanted to make wearing the mask optional."

According to the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education guidance released for summer programs on June 21 "masking indoors and maintaining other health and safety guidance is not required but is encouraged."

State guidelines suggest that all unvaccinated individuals — which would include all students under 12 years old since vaccines have not been approved for that age group — should continue to mask in indoor settings and when they can't socially distance.

However, the state guideline said that as of the fall "at this time, all health and safety guidance including masking and physical distancing will be lifted."

Vadala said that community standards suggest that personal and family judgments can be made in school settings as of this summer.

"If you can go to the supermarket without a mask on you can come to a summer program with the windows open, that follows all the other guidelines, and decide for yourself whether to wear a mask," he said. "It's a slow process. Everybody is at a different point."

Vadala said he thinks those personal choices will be necessary when it comes to vaccinations in the fall if they are approved for emergency use for younger children and receive full approval for those 12 and older.

He pointed to the state's ill-fated flu vaccine mandate this past school year as a reason why it's best to leave those decisions up to individual districts, which in Peabody he indicated means likely leaving it up to individual families.

"The state many have underestimated how many people truly didn't want to vaccinate their children (for influenza)," Vadala said. "You can look at that as a barometer of the number of people who don't want to do it and the number of people who do.

"I think (the coronavirus vaccine) is going to be an option and I don't know if we can require it going forward. If you want to be vaccinated, I think you should. If you don't, that's your right too.

"I think families can make decisions based on what they think is best for them."

Did you find this article useful? Invite a friend to subscribe to Patch.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at [email protected]. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)