Another local school is implementing a mask policy this fall.
The Greater Jasper Consolidated School Board approved this change to its reopening plan during their monthly meeting on Monday night.
Greater Jasper Consolidated Schools Superintendent, Dr. Tracy Lorey, says grades 3 and up and all staff members are required to wear a face covering. The school is also recommending that kindergarten, first, and second grades students wear a mask as well.
These face coverings are described as a reusable cloth mask, school-approved face-shield, N-95 mask, gaiter, or any other device that covers the mouth and nose.
Masks with 1-way valves that only protect the person wearing it are not allowed.
Lorey says their mask requirements are similar to other schools.
Masks must be worn whenever entering or leaving school facilities, during passing periods in hallways, when standing in line, when in the restroom, on the school bus, and when sitting close to others when social distancing is not possible.
If a student is seen without wearing a mask on the bus, Lorey says there will be consequences.
“It’s basically three warnings. For the first and second warnings, we will call the parents and remind them that they (the student) need to wear the mask. And for the third time, we will remove them from the bus for the remainder of the semester,” Lorey says.
Exceptions to this new requirement are also similar to other schools.
Students will not need to wear a face-covering when at desks that are three feet apart, when eating or drinking, during strenuous physical activity like athletics, and due to other health-related concerns that are documented by a physician.
The school will also give all of their students a face mask to start off the school year. Some of these will be provided by the school’s funds, but Lorey also says they are taking advantage of the state distribution of masks. They are currently waiting for the state to ship the boxes of PPE to schools around the state.
More information about this policy will be released on Tuesday.
And speaking of school starting up, registration officially starts on Tuesday.
The enrollment process is open from Tuesday, July 28th to Wednesday, August 5th.
To register, head to gjcs.powerschool.com/public, and log into PowerSchool by using your parent’s credentials.
To register for the COVID-19 online academy, complete the GJCS registration, and make sure that all of your contact information is up to date.
When prompted, select the option for COVID Online Academy.
After this, your child will be enrolled in the appropriate courses and you will be contacted by your EdOptions Academy teacher with start-up information.
Other various topics were discussed at last night’s meeting, including the 2020-2021 budget and board members approved a student’s Eagle Scout Project. We will have more information about these in a later newscast.
