Update on Masking

Dear Radnor Staff and Families,

We continue to closely monitor Covid-19 positivity rates in our schools and region as well as evolving public health guidance and activity at the local, state and national level. Over the past five weeks, positive cases reported by our students and staff have sharply declined, from a high of 208 cases the week of Dec. 31 to 18 cases this past week (Feb. 4-10). Covid-19 hospitalizations in Delaware County have also significantly decreased.

With this current information in hand, we are recommending a change to our state-required Health and Safety Plan at the School Board Business meeting on February 22. We will propose to remove the mask requirement for students and staff when positive case counts in each school are less than 2.5% of the school’s total staff and student population.

Currently, all Radnor schools fall below this 2.5% threshold. Therefore, if the recommendation is approved by the Board on February 22, and school case counts remain below 2.5% through February 22, masks will no longer be required for all students and staff beginning Thursday, February 24. Masks will continue to be required on all school buses and district vehicles per federal requirement.

This is not a recommendation we make lightly. Rather, it is based on months of continuous monitoring, discussion and planning. During both our December 2021 and January 2022 Board Business Meetings, we provided updates on the pandemic and discussed our mitigation measures, including the possibility of removing the masking requirement. But given the volatility of community spread at those times, our recommendation was to not make any changes yet and to revisit this public discussion on February 22.

As that February 22 meeting is approaching, we will provide a preview of our recommendation at our February 15 Board Curriculum Committee Meeting prior to the full Board discussing the matter and voting February 22. We will update the school community after the February 22 Business Meeting.

Should our mask requirement be removed, individual staff and families will be free to make their own choices about masking. We encourage families who may have individual concerns about how this recommendation may impact their child to please reach out to your principal.

As one Radnor community, it is important we respect staff member and family decisions regarding masking. Over the summer, when masking was optional for students enrolled in our programs, we were very impressed by the respect students demonstrated for their peers' decisions and we are optimistic this respect will continue in our community.

As always, thank you for supporting our schools. 

Ken

Kenneth E. Batchelor  
Superintendent of Schools