TOLEDO, Ohio — Following Gov. Mike DeWine’s urging for all schools to have students and faculty mask up and protect themselves from the COVID-19 delta variant, parents at one Toledo Public School echo support of masks in class.
The Toledo Public School district is requiring all students, faculty and staff to wear masks during class. On Tuesday, TPS elementary schools hosted an open house for families and teachers to meet and greet before the school year kicks off.
At Sherman Elementary, the cafeteria was full of guardians, students and staff. Yet, according to CDC guidelines, everyone for the most part was safe. The school’s principal, Kelli Williams-Payne, is in her fifth year at Sherman and said with a smile that there had been almost no pushback when it came to masks.
“It's been seamless. We just had open house. I don't know if you noticed but our students, you know, were used to it. They had their masks on, parents had their masks on,” Williams-Payne said.
While guardians spoke with teachers about the year ahead, it seemed as though everyone was in good spirits and just ready to get to start classes. TPS mother Shavon Taylor said she won’t complain about how the school year will start.
"I'm happy about it. I want them to go to school, and in order to stay as safe as they can around other little ones, put on a mask,” Taylor said.
However, the kids seemed to tell a different story. Sherman elementary third grader, Cameron Snow, does not share in Taylor's enthusiasm.
"I do not like wearing a mask. It's hard to breath in them,” Snow said.
It’s without a doubt that Cameron likely isn't alone in his thoughts; that’s why TPS mother Roberta Hobson has tried to make mask-wearing fun for her little ones.
"We kind of try and make it look nice, too. You know, match our little outfits,” Hobson explained. She also noted that too many people, in her opinion, got comfortable not wearing a mask and that likely helped spread the virus. Thus, wearing the mask now to keep spreading down just makes sense.
TPS grandmother Lillian Fears said all schools should have masks in class. She’d rather air on the side of caution; better to be safe than sorry. Though Fears has gotten the vaccine, her family knows COVID woes firsthand.
"My grandson got it, somebody had it in the room, and he didn't know for a week that somebody had had the virus. So, he had to be quarantined,” Fears said.
Sherman students can't miss all the gentle reminders on safety posted around the school this year: wash your hands signs, hand-washing stations, students wearing masks and personal hand sanitizers. Additionally, Philip Snow, Cameron’s dad, wants his son to tell his classmates that they should wear their masks, even if they aren’t a fan.
“He should tell them that you should wear it to be safe and to protect yourself, protect everyone around you. It's always about more than just yourself, when we're talking about this situation,” Snow explained.
Therefore, Sherman Elementary School parents are in agreement; they want their kids in the classrooms. So, if masks are what it takes, so be it.
For more information on TPS COVID-19 information and guidelines, visit the Toledo Public Schools' website.