With the end of California mandate, masks are coming off in Modesto schools

Being dropped off at Sherwood Elementary on Monday morning, second-grader Dominick Davey didn’t go so far as saying he was excited to be able to finally unmask in class. Excitement is reserved for things like “going to Disneyland or something,” he said.

Wearing a mask has “kind of felt normal because I’ve been doing it a long time,” he said. Still, “I’m feeling good,” he said, not just due to unmasking but because he was getting his second COVID-19 vaccine shot after school.

The mandate that face coverings be worn in school buildings and child care facilities across California expired at midnight Friday, though the state Department of Public Health says masks “are still strongly recommended to help protect your children, family, and community against COVID-19.”

A visit to a couple of Modesto schools found staff, parents and students happy to take them off, but others preferring to stay masked as the pandemic continues.

Also at Sherwood, which is in the Sylvan Union district, Cloie Jerome was being walked onto campus by her dad, David, and both were masked. The fourth-grader said that for now, she’ll remain masked “just to stay safe.”

David Jerome added, “I’m still getting emails from the school saying there’s COVID exposure here and there, so I don’t I don’t really understand why they’re stopping it, honestly. I’d rather keep ’em.”

Parent Debbie Sousa had just dropped off her first-grader, Olivia, who she said was “thrilled” to ditch face coverings. “I don’t have to wear a mask?” she said her daughter exclaimed.

Olivia has autism, Debbie said, and goes through a couple of masks a day because sensory issues lead her to frequently touch and lick them.

They’ve been a hindrance in speech therapy but Olivia didn’t use a face shield because “she’s so fidgety, and we had adjusted her to masks, so switching midstream was what we opted not to do.”

Another child, first-grader Ryder Bussell, was beaming as he came onto the Sherwood grounds. He said it hasn’t been hard to wear a mask but he’s happy to see it go. His mom, Kasha, said he’s had no problem abiding by school rules, “but other than that, he enjoys not having a mask on.”

What kids were telling The Bee on Monday morning seems to mirror what instructional facilitator Debbie Persons said she’s heard from them.

“A lot of kids are telling me that they’re looking forward to not wearing their mask, and then there’s other kids that told me they think they might wear it, they’re not positive,” she said outside Sherwood. .”We’re trying to keep make sure that the children realize that either way is going to be fine. ... We just want to make sure that they’re comfortable whichever avenue they choose to go down.”

The school has worked hard to “build a family community,” Persons said, so she does not anticipate problems “where children give each other a bad time because they’re wearing a mask or perhaps because they’re not wearing a mask.”

Districtwide, Sylvan has providing an environment in which everyone’s masking decision is supported, spokeswoman Velma Silva told The Bee. “Many administrators did share mask sensitivity training and talking points to students and staff last week in preparation for this week regarding mask choice acceptance,” she said in an email.

Persons also said she hopes the unmasking doesn’t result in a spike of COVID cases in schools. “I’m excited, and a little nervous, but the nervousness isn’t going to impede me not wearing a mask.”

Over at Beard Elementary in the Modesto City Schools district, Principal Beth Weston said that judging from what she saw on the playground before students went inside, probably 20% or so of students have remained masked.

With social distancing and plastic desk shields gone, the lifting of the mask mandate is pretty much the last big step toward getting schools back to normal, Weston said.

“I know there are a lot of teachers who are excited because it’s really had an effect on teaching letters, sounds and reading.”

When children are hearing not only themselves but their classmates and teacher, the muffling of masks has been a major challenge, she said.