Please allow school districts to decide if the mask mandate is best for their students & community.
I am a teacher at Strasburg Elementary. We had a very successful mask-free, totally in-person school year last year. We took many precautions, and had zero student-to-student Covid transmissions. Our students thrived and mentally fared well.
Unfortunately, we have already had multiple families disenroll over the mask mandate. That is not “keeping students in school” as the mandate was supposed to do.
Please follow the example of Douglas and Arapahoe counties and allow us to decide what is best for our students, we know them best.
Please OPT OUT of the mask mandate and let school districts choose. We live in rural Strasburg where our kids went to school last year with no masks and had no major outbreaks of the virus. I have 3 kids in the school district and they DO NOT want to wear masks. They understand the threat of Covid and still do not want to wear them. Their voice should matter. The ridiculous mandate states that they can attend school with a homemade mask and be OK, so we can send them with sheer nylon and that is "ok" by your standards, even though it is not at all protective. This makes no sense. You and TCHD are not in my house helping raise my children so how dare you try to enforce your opinion now? My youngest in school has speech issues already and this will further hinder her progress so will you help compensate us for added therapy? It only seems fair since this is your mandate and your doing since you have not decided to opt out. Change the stance on this and give us back our freedom!
I am a parent of two Strasburg students. Both of my children have asthma and had difficulty breathing with the masks on last school year. Both of my children also have anxiety and the last school year was unbelievably hard. My oldest also has depression. We have seen a huge increase in her depression in the last 17 months. Both of my children have begged to be homeschooled because of this mandate. Please do the right thing and allow the districts and parents to make decisions that are best for their kids.
Regarding the recently imposed tri-county student mask mandate. Forcing our kids to wear masks harms their physical health, mental health, ability to learn, and infringes on their freedom. Wearing a mask increases the levels of inhaled carbon dioxide, causing headache and hypoxia from low blood oxygen levels. The child suicide rate went up by 5.7% after the mask mandate was unconstitutionally imposed on our children during 2020 when compared to 2019. Studies have proven masks are ineffective at stopping the spread of COVID-19. There is no upside to forcing children to wear masks and plenty of downside. So unless you would like our children to have headaches, learn less, feel afraid, and experience depression, there is absolutely no reason to mandate masks. This mandate is not in our children's best interest.
I am a parent of a 3rd grader in Strasburg Elementary. Last year was an incredibly tough year for the students, staff, and parents but we made it through. My daughter went to school every day last year without a mask and was perfectly healthy. My husband did have covid in March of this year even though he wore a mask to work every day. We quarantined and my daughter, infant son, and myself never got the virus. We did not wear masks in our house while he was sick, just did the natural thing and stayed away from each other. The masks do not help these kids who are already struggling, and it puts in immense amount of pressure on the teachers. Not only do they have to do the incredible task of teaching our children but now we are asking them to force the kids to wear masks which are a huge disruption. I ask that you opt out of this and let the districts, and the parents make the decisions that they feel are best for the community they are actually a part of.
We are requesting that you allow Bennett School District 29J to opt out of the recent Tri-County Health Public Mask Order for children ages 2-11. We do not believe this protective measure is necessary for Bennett because COVID transmission is very, very low in our school district. According to Tri-County’s COVID-19 Case/Testing Trends by School District Boundaries on August 22, 2021 (https://tchdgis.maps.arcgis.com/apps/dashboards/acc52b381eed47219319864b3db95890), there have been 159,652 COVID cases with the school districts in the Tri-County area, but only 113 of those were in the Bennett School District. The majority of these cases occurred in Fall 2020, the only time student transmission of COVID occurred, a result of a community volunteer exposing the women’s basketball team to the virus. No outbreaks have occurred in the elementary schools, even throughout the 2020-2021 school year when our youngest students were not required to wear masks, per the Governor’s statewide order.
I am a parent of 3 in the Strasburg School district. 1 in high school, 1 in middle school, 1 in elementary. Last year the older 2 wore masks for the day when they were in school. I sent my youngest to school in a mask and as soon as he got into the building he removed it and was never asked/told to put it back on. My husband and middle child had covid in November 2020. My middle child is immunocompromised. We are all fully vaccinated except for my youngest, because of age. My youngest has an IEP for reading and flourished last year. None of my children had negative mental health due to masks. I believe that what people are missing is the empathy and compassion for others. I have taught my kids that there are things that we have to do for the betterment of the people around us. It is not just about us. Masks are uncomfortable and annoying, but we do it for those who can not. When asked about wearing masks at school this year, my youngest said he is fine with it. Maybe kids need some say
I'm a teacher and parent of 2 at Strasburg Elementary. August 2020, schools reopened under state guidelines, decisions were made locally. Strasburg Elementary was one of few school that reopened fully in-person. We had cohorts, quarantines, implemented social distancing (arrows taped to the floor), scheduled bathroom breaks, hand and surface cleaning reminders, and we encouraged and supported mask wearing but did not force it. As a teacher it was a tough year but kids were in school and they flourished, though some classes did quarantine due to exposure not a single case was transmitted at school. Families did choose to homeschool last year but this year enrollment was up and families came back. Since the mandate 8 families have disenrolled and many more are considering and it hasn't even taken effect. Strasburg cares about our kids, families, and staff. We will always do what is in their best interest and safety. Please let us make that decision. Thank you.
Regarding Tr-Country masking mandate. Masking plays a part in the current mental health crisis, maybe a larger part than we know right now. Our schools have proven that they can keep kids safe with out masks. We only had a handful of isolated cases of COVID the 2020 school year. The current state of Mental Heath crisis in youth is not just because of lockdowns. I could spend hours citing sources about why I don’t think masking is appropriate for children. Some schools may need masking. Our school doesn’t. I’m not hear to change your mind about masking. In my experience, most people have made their mind up and generally don’t really listen to other viewpoints. Opting out doesn’t mean that every school will opt out, it allows schools to choose to mask or not. I’m only asking that you leave the decision to the school boards to do what is best for their district. Remember Adam’s county is huge and covers a wide range of diversely populated areas.
Thank you for considering this matter.
Please opt out of the mask mandate for children. The COVID-19 virus does not severely effect our younger population. Any adults around these children have the option of vaccination if they want. There is no reason for a mask on a small child who messes/touches the mask constantly. My children touch their face much more often while wearing a mask, that's not helping. Please opt out so schools can choose for what's right in their community.
Thank you for your time,
Angela Hefke
Please opt out of the mask mandate for children. My kids are two years old with a developmental delay and do not understand what masks are or why they have to wear them. A mask mandate means daycare is no longer an option for us. Two years is too young.
I am a second grade teacher in Strasburg, and I am writing to ask you to execute your authority and opt Adams County out of the TriCounty Health order. I feel that this decision was made without the board members looking at all of the facts for rural districts. The data for our district, would have shown that we taught, in-person, without kids in masks, all school year last year. This should be proof enough that our district has a true commitment to keeping our students safe. Another concerning part of this order is also the fact that they deliberately (the board was asked to add this by the superintendents at the meeting they had, and chose to ignore their requests) omitted any specific date or measure by which they will decide if it needs to continue or not. They have granted themselves ultimate and unquestionable authority. This leaves them with all of the power to keep this going forever, if they so choose. Please, put this decision back into the hands of the districts.
Jena Hausmann, CEO of Children’s Hospital Colorado, declared a "State of Emergency" in youth mental health today, a first in the 117-year history of the hospital system. "I've been in practice for over 20 years in pediatrics and I’ve never seen anything like the demand for mental health services we’ve seen at Children’s Colorado in the past 15 months," said David Brumbaugh, MD, Chief Medical Officer for Children’s Colorado. Our kids have run out of resilience – their tanks are empty." Commissioners are you considering all aspects of scientific reporting?
We have to start acknowledging that the previous way of dealing with the pandemic is causing more harm than good. Children need to not only be in school but to also see their teachers and classmates faces for learning and development. Children need normal. Adam’s county covers a large area with different needs in different areas. Let the school boards have the option to determine what is best for the children in their areas.
-mom of 4
For the past 17 months of the Covid-19 pandemic, children have been shown to be at extremely minimal risk for serious infection, hospitalization, and death. However, for the first time in 17 months, tri-county has issued a mask mandate for children 2-11 in schools, pre-schools and daycare facilities. It is unreasonable to require ANY child to wear a mask, however, especially so for children under 5. Please opt out of the mandate and allow parents to decide what is best for their young children.
I understand that the COVID-19 virus is an unfortunate circumstance in our lives now. But if you look at the very short history of this virus in the US. You can easily see that spikes, outbreaks, variants, and morbidity all rise and fall through time with no regard to lockdowns, restrictions, or masking. As a parent, I see first hand how our children are harmed more by masking than not. A child at some point will think it is a toy and spread playful germs all over their tiny environment. A child will most definitely trade their well used mask for a friends seemingly cooler well used mask. A child will put undue stress on their still developing lungs to breathe thru that mask. Children are much less susceptible to this virus, let's not add the stress, pressure, or possible future effects of masking on children. Lets not set a precedent that will only convolute our already worn down population. Thank you for your time and consideration in this matter.
Adams County should opt out of the Tri-County school mask mandate. The mandate targets children 2-11. This group is infected the least, has the mildest symptoms, and is least likely to spread the disease. Targeting the youngest children is upside down. What is the good-faith argument for targeting this group? The Tri-County order cites that children under 12 don’t currently have approved vaccines. Again, this group has the least effect. They are more in danger from influenza. They are more in danger driving to school. Other groups can be effectively vaccinated. It feels like hostage taking to drive up demand for vaccinations. Do not participate in this. Opt out and allow parents to decide what is best for their children. We are capable of evaluating the risk for our kids. Many of us have fully participated and now want our little boys and girls to be able to play and socialize like normal kids.
Sincerely,
Zack Fry
Parent of of a four year old preschooler
Please allow school districts to decide if the mask mandate is best for their students & community.
I am a teacher at Strasburg Elementary. We had a very successful mask-free, totally in-person school year last year. We took many precautions, and had zero student-to-student Covid transmissions. Our students thrived and mentally fared well.
Unfortunately, we have already had multiple families disenroll over the mask mandate. That is not “keeping students in school” as the mandate was supposed to do.
Please follow the example of Douglas and Arapahoe counties and allow us to decide what is best for our students, we know them best.
Please OPT OUT of the mask mandate and let school districts choose. We live in rural Strasburg where our kids went to school last year with no masks and had no major outbreaks of the virus. I have 3 kids in the school district and they DO NOT want to wear masks. They understand the threat of Covid and still do not want to wear them. Their voice should matter. The ridiculous mandate states that they can attend school with a homemade mask and be OK, so we can send them with sheer nylon and that is "ok" by your standards, even though it is not at all protective. This makes no sense. You and TCHD are not in my house helping raise my children so how dare you try to enforce your opinion now? My youngest in school has speech issues already and this will further hinder her progress so will you help compensate us for added therapy? It only seems fair since this is your mandate and your doing since you have not decided to opt out. Change the stance on this and give us back our freedom!
I am a parent of two Strasburg students. Both of my children have asthma and had difficulty breathing with the masks on last school year. Both of my children also have anxiety and the last school year was unbelievably hard. My oldest also has depression. We have seen a huge increase in her depression in the last 17 months. Both of my children have begged to be homeschooled because of this mandate. Please do the right thing and allow the districts and parents to make decisions that are best for their kids.
Regarding the recently imposed tri-county student mask mandate. Forcing our kids to wear masks harms their physical health, mental health, ability to learn, and infringes on their freedom. Wearing a mask increases the levels of inhaled carbon dioxide, causing headache and hypoxia from low blood oxygen levels. The child suicide rate went up by 5.7% after the mask mandate was unconstitutionally imposed on our children during 2020 when compared to 2019. Studies have proven masks are ineffective at stopping the spread of COVID-19. There is no upside to forcing children to wear masks and plenty of downside. So unless you would like our children to have headaches, learn less, feel afraid, and experience depression, there is absolutely no reason to mandate masks. This mandate is not in our children's best interest.
I am a parent of a 3rd grader in Strasburg Elementary. Last year was an incredibly tough year for the students, staff, and parents but we made it through. My daughter went to school every day last year without a mask and was perfectly healthy. My husband did have covid in March of this year even though he wore a mask to work every day. We quarantined and my daughter, infant son, and myself never got the virus. We did not wear masks in our house while he was sick, just did the natural thing and stayed away from each other. The masks do not help these kids who are already struggling, and it puts in immense amount of pressure on the teachers. Not only do they have to do the incredible task of teaching our children but now we are asking them to force the kids to wear masks which are a huge disruption. I ask that you opt out of this and let the districts, and the parents make the decisions that they feel are best for the community they are actually a part of.
Amanda Dreiling
We are requesting that you allow Bennett School District 29J to opt out of the recent Tri-County Health Public Mask Order for children ages 2-11. We do not believe this protective measure is necessary for Bennett because COVID transmission is very, very low in our school district. According to Tri-County’s COVID-19 Case/Testing Trends by School District Boundaries on August 22, 2021 (https://tchdgis.maps.arcgis.com/apps/dashboards/acc52b381eed47219319864b3db95890), there have been 159,652 COVID cases with the school districts in the Tri-County area, but only 113 of those were in the Bennett School District. The majority of these cases occurred in Fall 2020, the only time student transmission of COVID occurred, a result of a community volunteer exposing the women’s basketball team to the virus. No outbreaks have occurred in the elementary schools, even throughout the 2020-2021 school year when our youngest students were not required to wear masks, per the Governor’s statewide order.
I am a parent of 3 in the Strasburg School district. 1 in high school, 1 in middle school, 1 in elementary. Last year the older 2 wore masks for the day when they were in school. I sent my youngest to school in a mask and as soon as he got into the building he removed it and was never asked/told to put it back on. My husband and middle child had covid in November 2020. My middle child is immunocompromised. We are all fully vaccinated except for my youngest, because of age. My youngest has an IEP for reading and flourished last year. None of my children had negative mental health due to masks. I believe that what people are missing is the empathy and compassion for others. I have taught my kids that there are things that we have to do for the betterment of the people around us. It is not just about us. Masks are uncomfortable and annoying, but we do it for those who can not. When asked about wearing masks at school this year, my youngest said he is fine with it. Maybe kids need some say
I'm a teacher and parent of 2 at Strasburg Elementary. August 2020, schools reopened under state guidelines, decisions were made locally. Strasburg Elementary was one of few school that reopened fully in-person. We had cohorts, quarantines, implemented social distancing (arrows taped to the floor), scheduled bathroom breaks, hand and surface cleaning reminders, and we encouraged and supported mask wearing but did not force it. As a teacher it was a tough year but kids were in school and they flourished, though some classes did quarantine due to exposure not a single case was transmitted at school. Families did choose to homeschool last year but this year enrollment was up and families came back. Since the mandate 8 families have disenrolled and many more are considering and it hasn't even taken effect. Strasburg cares about our kids, families, and staff. We will always do what is in their best interest and safety. Please let us make that decision. Thank you.
Regarding Tr-Country masking mandate. Masking plays a part in the current mental health crisis, maybe a larger part than we know right now. Our schools have proven that they can keep kids safe with out masks. We only had a handful of isolated cases of COVID the 2020 school year. The current state of Mental Heath crisis in youth is not just because of lockdowns. I could spend hours citing sources about why I don’t think masking is appropriate for children. Some schools may need masking. Our school doesn’t. I’m not hear to change your mind about masking. In my experience, most people have made their mind up and generally don’t really listen to other viewpoints. Opting out doesn’t mean that every school will opt out, it allows schools to choose to mask or not. I’m only asking that you leave the decision to the school boards to do what is best for their district. Remember Adam’s county is huge and covers a wide range of diversely populated areas.
Thank you for considering this matter.
Please opt out of the mask mandate for children. The COVID-19 virus does not severely effect our younger population. Any adults around these children have the option of vaccination if they want. There is no reason for a mask on a small child who messes/touches the mask constantly. My children touch their face much more often while wearing a mask, that's not helping. Please opt out so schools can choose for what's right in their community.
Thank you for your time,
Angela Hefke
Please opt out of the mask mandate for children. My kids are two years old with a developmental delay and do not understand what masks are or why they have to wear them. A mask mandate means daycare is no longer an option for us. Two years is too young.
I am a second grade teacher in Strasburg, and I am writing to ask you to execute your authority and opt Adams County out of the TriCounty Health order. I feel that this decision was made without the board members looking at all of the facts for rural districts. The data for our district, would have shown that we taught, in-person, without kids in masks, all school year last year. This should be proof enough that our district has a true commitment to keeping our students safe. Another concerning part of this order is also the fact that they deliberately (the board was asked to add this by the superintendents at the meeting they had, and chose to ignore their requests) omitted any specific date or measure by which they will decide if it needs to continue or not. They have granted themselves ultimate and unquestionable authority. This leaves them with all of the power to keep this going forever, if they so choose. Please, put this decision back into the hands of the districts.
Jena Hausmann, CEO of Children’s Hospital Colorado, declared a "State of Emergency" in youth mental health today, a first in the 117-year history of the hospital system. "I've been in practice for over 20 years in pediatrics and I’ve never seen anything like the demand for mental health services we’ve seen at Children’s Colorado in the past 15 months," said David Brumbaugh, MD, Chief Medical Officer for Children’s Colorado. Our kids have run out of resilience – their tanks are empty." Commissioners are you considering all aspects of scientific reporting?
We have to start acknowledging that the previous way of dealing with the pandemic is causing more harm than good. Children need to not only be in school but to also see their teachers and classmates faces for learning and development. Children need normal. Adam’s county covers a large area with different needs in different areas. Let the school boards have the option to determine what is best for the children in their areas.
-mom of 4
For the past 17 months of the Covid-19 pandemic, children have been shown to be at extremely minimal risk for serious infection, hospitalization, and death. However, for the first time in 17 months, tri-county has issued a mask mandate for children 2-11 in schools, pre-schools and daycare facilities. It is unreasonable to require ANY child to wear a mask, however, especially so for children under 5. Please opt out of the mandate and allow parents to decide what is best for their young children.
I understand that the COVID-19 virus is an unfortunate circumstance in our lives now. But if you look at the very short history of this virus in the US. You can easily see that spikes, outbreaks, variants, and morbidity all rise and fall through time with no regard to lockdowns, restrictions, or masking. As a parent, I see first hand how our children are harmed more by masking than not. A child at some point will think it is a toy and spread playful germs all over their tiny environment. A child will most definitely trade their well used mask for a friends seemingly cooler well used mask. A child will put undue stress on their still developing lungs to breathe thru that mask. Children are much less susceptible to this virus, let's not add the stress, pressure, or possible future effects of masking on children. Lets not set a precedent that will only convolute our already worn down population. Thank you for your time and consideration in this matter.
Regards
Richard D. Hefke
Adams County should opt out of the Tri-County school mask mandate. The mandate targets children 2-11. This group is infected the least, has the mildest symptoms, and is least likely to spread the disease. Targeting the youngest children is upside down. What is the good-faith argument for targeting this group? The Tri-County order cites that children under 12 don’t currently have approved vaccines. Again, this group has the least effect. They are more in danger from influenza. They are more in danger driving to school. Other groups can be effectively vaccinated. It feels like hostage taking to drive up demand for vaccinations. Do not participate in this. Opt out and allow parents to decide what is best for their children. We are capable of evaluating the risk for our kids. Many of us have fully participated and now want our little boys and girls to be able to play and socialize like normal kids.
Sincerely,
Zack Fry
Parent of of a four year old preschooler