Mask mandate starts for 3 Shawano public schools

By: 
NEW Media Staff

The Shawano School District posted a notice on Sept. 17 that it was going to require masks, beginning Sept. 20, during the normal school day at three of its schools.

The mask mandate is in effect for Shawano Community High School, Shawano Community Middle School and Hillcrest Primary School through at least Oct. 1. There is no mandate at Olga Brener Intermediate School, although the district “strongly recommends masking” at the school, according to the notice.

The notice from Superintendent Randi Anderson claimed increased rates of illness in the schools where the mandates are in effect, along with an increased community rate, which she said is putting the effort to keep school in session five days a week at risk. She wrote that the district would be looking at what plans are to keep COVID-19 in check after Oct. 1.

The pandemic is slightly better for the school district now than when it was a year ago. In 2020, the district required masks from day one with a hybrid learning session, and it was around the end of September when the district went to a full virtual learning schedule for over three months.