Mandates are Mandated, Recommendations are Recommended

By Press release submission

Jan 5, 2022

Oakridge Public Schools issued the following announcement on Jan 1.

Happy New Year!

I’m refreshed from a relaxing Christmas Break with family and ready to get back to school. I hope your holiday season was a time for renewal as well. We have a lot of work to do to restore the learning that COVID has negatively impacted and I’m confident we’ll be successful in that endeavor.

This communication is to provide an update on the impact of recent announcements from the CDC, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS), and Michigan Department of Education (MDE). In short, there are no new mandates for schools. Oakridge Public Schools will continue to mandate the mandates and recommend the recommendations from the CDC, MDHHS, and MDE. All COVID mitigation protocols continue to be documented at www.oakridgeschools.org/covid but I’ll summarize a few here:

Recommendations

Get vaccinated. Children ages 5 and up are eligible to be vaccinated. Here is a list of locations for FREE vaccinations including the Oakridge Teen Health Center.
Wear a mask in school
Social distance
Quarantine if identified as a close contact to a positive COVID case
Isolate if you test positive for COVID (only health departments have the authority to issue orders)

Mandates

Wear a mask on school buses (Federal mandate)
Isolate/quarantine if ordered by the Health Department

You may have read recent headlines conveying that the CDC recommends a shortening of the quarantine and isolation duration for those who aren’t vaccinated or haven’t received their booster to five days followed by an additional five days of wearing a well-fitting mask when around others. That updated guidance was specific to the general public or healthcare workers and does not change the current guidance recommendations for K-12 schools. As such, Oakridge will continue to use our existing guidelines and policies regarding quarantine and isolation as documented at www.oakridgeschools.org/covid.

I am aware of the diverse opinions among the public on how to deal with COVID. The one thing that unites us is our desire to keep kids safe, healthy, and learning in school. When we each do our part, our kids will benefit.

We’re in this together! Let’s get 2022 started on a great note!

Tom Livezey

Superintendent

Original source can be found here.