BEAUMONT, Texas — Some Southeast Texas parents are saying St. Anne Catholic School’s temporary mask mandate is effective as the school finishes week two of full in-person learning.
At the beginning of the year, 100 out of the 500 St. Anne students were in quarantine. School officials said the diocese watched COVID-19 trends throughout Beaumont and issued a temporary mask mandate to avoid closures.
“We have not closed for any length of time at all, not even a single day as an entire school community,” Alison Kiker, principal of St. Anne, said. “So we've been really pleased that our kids have done a beautiful job adapting. Teachers have done an amazing job, and we're just happy to have kids in person.”
Some parents said while they understand many do not like wearing masks, they agree with the mandate. The Southeast Texas parents said it ensures the safety and well-being of their children.
“My perspective, the most important part was that they weren't going to miss more school, or they weren't going to be quarantined without having been sick,” Jeff Wheeler, St. Anne parent, said. “Since the mask mandate, there hasn't been mass quarantines. There haven't been, like, my kids haven't been sent home. Even with close exposure because of the mass.”
Wheeler has two daughters that attend the catholic school and said his main concerns and priorities are the safety of his children and keeping them in school.
“It's not really necessarily about the masks, but it's about our kids being able to stay in school,” Wheeler said.
Wheeler believes that due to the parents of St. Anne being a tight-knit community, mutual respect will be held for others even if they are not in agreement concerning the mandate.
“Every opinion matters, but ultimately you know they're confident that the administration here at St. Anne's and across the art community are making decisions that fully support the health and safety of our children,” Wheeler said.
In late August of 2021, 26% of positive COVID-19 cases were from children who were between the ages of 4 and 17. In late October of 2021, that percentage decreased to 14%.
Health officials said the dramatic decrease is proof that mask-wearing works in slowing the spread of COVID-19.
“That's a big drop, and we attribute that to partly because, you know, BISD is the only school district that we have in the city, plus the private schools,” Kenneth Coleman, director of public health, said. “So, when they put in a mask mandate, that's when we started noticing a decrease in the number of school-aged kids testing positive.”
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention still recommends masks for in-person learning.