Little Compton schools go mask-optional

Masks optional as long as Wilbur & McMahon positivity rate stays below 15 percent

By Ted Hayes
Posted 3/2/22

When students in Little Compton return to class after the weekend, masks won't be a requirement, but their and their parents' choice.

The school committee Wednesday night unanimously passed a …

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Little Compton schools go mask-optional

Masks optional as long as Wilbur & McMahon positivity rate stays below 15 percent

Posted

When students in Little Compton return to class after the weekend, masks won't be a requirement, but their and their parents' choice.

The school committee Wednesday night unanimously passed a new mask policy that makes them optional as long as the positivity rate at Wilbur & McMahon doesn't climb above 15 percent — roughly 29 students.

The school's rate will be tracked using local data from the school, and parents who self-report. If the rate jumps above 15 percent, Dias-Mitchell will call for an emergency school committee meeting, at which members will vote on her recommended course of action.

The policy is a compromise between those who wanted it informed by data, namely that of the CDC and Rhode Island Department of Health, and those who favored a bottom-line optional policy that did not rely on data.

Currently, one student at Wilbur & McMahon is COVID-positive.

More on the district's new policy tomorrow.

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