Drew Central issues Mask Statement
April 9th, 2021 by Joe Burgess
April 9, 2021
Pirate Nation:
Governor Asa Hutchinson announced Tuesday, March 30, he was lifting the statewide mask mandate in Arkansas, effective immediately. After the press conference schools were notified that this announcement does not change the guidance and recommendations for schools from the Arkansas Department of Health or Arkansas Department of Education. They both strongly advise districts to continue to follow all measures that have allowed successful in-person learning to occur, which include Physical Distancing, Mask Wearing, Hand Washing, Cleaning and maintaining healthy facilities, and Identification of Close Contacts.
Drew Central School District adopted a Ready for Learning Plan for the 2020-2021 school year in adherence to those recommendations which strongly encourages anyone on school property to wear a mask. School property is identified as anywhere on campus and the school buses. Students who do not have a mask properly in place at school will be asked to wear a mask and will be provided with a mask if needed. However, students will not be sent home or receive any form of punishment for not wearing a mask.
The procedures we have followed since the beginning of the year have helped prevent person-to-person spread of the virus among students and staff while at school. We are very thankful to report we have no positive cases or Pirates quarantined at the time of this letter. For this reason, the Drew Central School District as well as the majority of the school districts in Southeast Arkansas will continue following ADH and ADE recommendations and our original Ready for Learning Plans until further notice.
Thank you for your support and “can-do” attitude as we have all worked diligently to make this year successful for our students. We realize this has been difficult on everyone and it has taken the entire Pirate Nation to make it this far. While these mandates and guidelines are progressive yet still cautious, we always want to do what is best for the students.
#PiratePRIDE
Kimbraly Barnes
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