On Thursday, Rockford Public Schools sent out a letter to parents from the elementary school administrators letting them know about a change in mask requirements within the elementary schools, as per the Kent County Health Department guidelines.

As the letter reads,

We wanted to make you aware that today we made a change to increase safety for students in the line with mask requirements as it pertains to recess in school. The Kent County Health Department provides the guidelines for us based on CDC/MDHHS recommendations along with regional data when it comes to protocols at the elementary level we are seeing a spike in COVID cases, and this is resulting in a rise in students and classrooms having to quarantine. Starting this morning, students will be wearing a mask during all recesses. This mitigation practice is to provide an extra COVID measure to ensure student safety at school.

They continue the letter by asking parents to remain active in helping keep the school system safe and open to in-person learning. That means if your kid is sick, keep them home, and then they specifically say if they’re experiencing one symptom: cough, runny nose, fever, congestion, stomach ache, headache, or extreme fatigue - to keep them home for 24 hours or they’ll be sent home. If they come to school with two symptoms, the sick child and any siblings will be sent home and have to have a negative COVID test to come back to school.

They’re not taking chances with trying to keep their school system open with uninterrupted learning during the last part of this school year. In the letter, they also recognize the parents for helping them in their mission.

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