WHEN THE STATE SCHOOL MASK MANDATE IS LIFTED, WE BELIEVE THAT RANNEY PARENTS SHOULD DECIDE WHETHER THEIR CHILDREN WEAR MASKS IN SCHOOL.

Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, Ranney has strictly followed the State of NJ and NJDOE guidelines related to safety measures, including masking, social distancing, etc.  We thank the School for its approach to our children’s safety and for ensuring that students are able to learn in-person as much as possible, while giving parents the choice to opt for virtual learning for their children.  We understand this has not always been easy in a state with some of the strictest covid policies for K-12 schools.

The current emergency school mask order issued by the Governor will end on February 10, 2022, unless renewed.  With Omicron cases and hospitalizations declining quickly in the state, it is possible that the Governor will not renew the order.  Should the order lapse then (or even a month from then) and no further mandatory directive be given, it is likely that independent schools will be able to choose for themselves the masking policy they will follow – either continuing the “mask mandatory” policies or making student masking optional and up to their parents’ discretion.

With this looming change possible, we, a group of concerned Ranney parents, have come together to make our voices heard and be joined by other like-minded Ranney parents.  We are a very diverse group and this petition does not have a political angle.  We simply believe parents should be able to make important decisions that affect their children’s lives.

Both the CDC and major news outlets have recently published a number of studies and articles by well-known medical professionals, stating clearly that wearing cloth masks (or even surgical masks) provides little protective benefit against Covid-19 infection, if any, while at the same time bringing forth documented social, development, and emotional consequences for students.  This supports many previous studies, both experimental and observational, that came to the same conclusion.

Furthermore, with the current wide availability of vaccines for K-12 students, parents are provided with what the medical establishment considers superior means of protection for their children.  Vaccines have been approved long enough for all students whose parents chose to vaccinate them to be afforded the time to be fully vaccinated (and, in some cases, boosted).  Furthermore, the same studies mentioned above point to the N95 masks providing superior protection *for the wearer*, thus allowing those students who wear these masks to be protected even if in close proximity to other students who remain maskless.  N95 masks (or their equivalent for children) are also widely available now and can provide parents who choose to mask their children that extra degree of controlled protection.

With the above considerations in mind, we ask a very simple question: if/when the Governor of NJ lifts the state school mask mandate and independent schools are provided the opportunity to make masks optional, would you support the principle of free choice for Ranney parents when it comes to masking our children at school?

If you would support free choice for parents on this issue, allowing all of us to weigh the risks/rewards for our families and make informed decisions, while not infringing on the rights and protection for others’ children, please sign our petition.  We intend to present it to Ranney School as soon as the state school mask mandate is lifted.

We would like to stress once again that we truly appreciate Ranney School and want to continue being Ranney parents.  With this petition, we would like to provide the School’s administration with an objective gauge of parent opinion as to masking and parental choice, as opposed to only hearing from a handful of the most vocal parents on this issue. 

Thank you!