By Tim Mastro

As the summer winds down, Delaware school districts are making their plans for a full return to in-person learning.

An indoor mask requirement for everyone kindergarten-age and older in K-12 schools and child care centers goes into effect today, regardless of vaccination status. This requirement, announced last Tuesday by Gov. John Carney, covers both public and private schools.

Polytech is planning a full reopening for its high school and adult education buildings in the fall, with in-person classes five days a week. Superintendent Amelia Hodges said at a school board meeting last Tuesday the district will be following Gov. Carney’s mask requirement indoors.

In addition to masking, Polytech will have other protocols in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19, such as regular sanitizing of the building, asking individuals to stay home if they are sick, sanitizing stations around the facility and temperature screening at entrances. Staff and students should check themselves each day, Dr. Hodges said, and stay away if showing signs of illness.

Polytech recommends those who are unvaccinated get tested weekly. It is working with the state to have rapid testing on site, with results available in less than 15 minutes. Participation in this testing program is voluntary if students or staff want to opt in.

“It will be important that unvaccinated people are following all the protocols,” Dr. Hodges said. “Or get vaccinated.”

Dr. Hodges added a positive test will mean isolation, regardless of vaccination status. Polytech hosted a vaccine clinic on July 31 and will be administering those second doses on Aug. 21 at the high school through Bayhealth. It also plans to offer flu vaccine clinics in the fall.

The Caesar Rodney School District also plans to operate with a five-day, full-day, in-person model for the upcoming year.

“The district is currently developing plans for all students to fully return to the classroom on the first day of school, Aug. 24,” it posted on its website. “The district has no future plans to return to a hybrid model.”

The Caesar Rodney school board has a work session agenda scheduled for tonight at 6 p.m. The lone item on the agenda for discussion items is listed as “school return 2021-2022.”

Caesar Rodney also has a school board meeting on Tuesday at 7 p.m., and the Capital School District’s board meeting will be held Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. Both will allow public comment.

Polytech’s school board meeting did not have any individuals speak during the public comment section regarding Gov. Carney’s recent masks requirement. However, several other districts in the state, including Appoquinimink last week, have had several parents ask to not follow Gov. Carney’s order.

Gov. Carney’s office has said the mandate is consistent with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Academy of Pediatrics, and “will help all Delaware students safely return to classrooms full-time this fall for the 2021-2022 school year.”

For those younger than kindergarten age, child care homes and centers are strongly encouraged to require masks for children 2 years old to kindergarten inside their facilities, per Gov. Carney’s office. Children younger than 2 should not wear masks due to risk of suffocation.

The CDC recommended masks be worn indoors in areas with substantial or high levels of COVID-19 spread in a recent guidance. All three of Delaware’s counties have high levels of transmission, according to the CDC criteria. The state has averaged 250.6 positive cases of COVID-19 per day over the last seven days.

Educators are not included in a recent order requiring all state employees to get vaccinated or be subject to COVID-19 testing. The Department of Education still strongly encourages eligible individuals to be vaccinated.

The DOE has organized numerous COVID-19 vaccine clinics at schools, including four scheduled for Thursday from 4-8 p.m. Thursday’s locations are Lake Forest Central Elementary School, Seaford Middle School, William Penn High School and Howard High School of Technology.

All sites will offer the Pfizer vaccine — the only shot approved for individuals 12 and older. Children under 18 must provide parental or guardian consent.

A full list of vaccination sites is available at de.gov/getmyvaccine.

Children younger than 12 remain ineligible for COVID-19 vaccination.