Our school district prides itself on its academic offerings, including many advanced STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts & Mathematics) courses. But our district’s COVID-19 Mitigation Guidelines as released on August 3 do not follow the latest science-based guidance for K-12 schools from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

CDC’s guidance was updated in late July to reflect the latest scientific knowledge about the coronavirus and its Delta variant. The updated guidance calls for masks to be worn by all adults and children inside all schools, regardless of vaccination status. It aims to protect children under 12 who can't be vaccinated, and students and staff who may be vaccinated but less-protected by the vaccine due to health conditions, as well as those over 12 who are not yet vaccinated.

P-CCS should require masking in accordance with the CDC guidelines, which at the current time do not depend on the level of COVID spread in the community. Other major school districts in Michigan are already doing so.

Also in keeping with CDC guidance, vaccination against COVID-19 should continue to be strongly encouraged for everyone over the age of 12 working or studying in P-CCS.