Diocese superintendent outlines school mask requirements

One cloth face covering for each student and school staff member, a minimum of 2,000 disposable masks and at least three thermometers are being provided for each school in the state by the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness as school administrators try to protect staff and students from the spread of COVID-19.
That was the message from Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux Superintendent of Catholic Schools Suzanne Troxclair in the second video the diocese released this week on YouTube regarding guidance concerning returning to school this fall.
“The state is really working with our schools and the Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness is working very carefully to really help do all that they can to make our schools as safe as they can at this time,” Troxclair said.
For those who will use their own masks, Troxclair said individual schools will provide more information on what is acceptable.
However, she said the diocese is recommending face coverings made of cloth at the advice of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, because the cloth face coverings can be cleaned and reused.
They also don’t take away from the supply of certain masks that medical professionals and first responders need.
The diocese will not allow face shields, however, noting the CDC has not found evidence of their effectiveness against the spread of COVID-19.
Those students or adults who have medical issues or parents concerned about their child using a face covering should consult their physician in order to make the proper choice, Troxclair said, citing CDC guidance.
When schools begin in the fall, all students in grades 3-12 and every employee in diocesan schools will be required to wear a mask. Central Catholic Elementary will resume school Aug. 6, while Central Catholic High School will return to the classroom Aug. 8.
While public school openings have been pushed back in some areas where the diocese has schools, no changes have been made to the diocese’s plans.
“We (public and parochial schools) don’t all have to do the exact same thing, but with that said, we’re all doing what’s in the best interest of our students and our staff, so we’re evaluating and re-evaluating where we are currently with that new guidance that’s come out, with new information that comes out from the CDC, what we know we have to do for our schools and our school families to best accommodate them,” Troxclair said.
While the state is in Phase Two of reopening, Troxclair said diocesan schools are prepared for any phase changes.
“For example, in Phase One, the numbers of students in our classrooms would be cut dramatically, so that could bring us into a hybrid situation where we would need to take students in more of a platooning-type situation where we would not be able to have our whole student body present at the same time at school,” she said, noting that virtual learning would be incorporated in those situations, too.
Troxclair said Phase One doesn’t mandate no one can be at school. It just limits the number of people present.
The diocese also must be prepared if another stay-at-home order is needed, too, she said.
Troxclair said the diocesan schools also must plan for the “reality, the very strong likelihood” that there will be positive cases on their campuses.
“Whether it’s at school or at home and a child is positive or an employee is positive, we have to be prepared for that,” she said. “Learning’s not going to stop for those students. We have to be prepared to be able to continue teaching and learning for those students when they’re in quarantine or in the unfortunate event that they would actually be symptomatic and be sick, so teachers and principals are preparing for that right now and how they are going to continue that curriculum and continue that teaching and learning for those students.”