With school back in session, classrooms are starting to look how they did pre-pandemic

As Labor Day has come and gone and the August calendar flipped to September, students have been packing their backpacks and preparing for the start of the school year.

But this year’s back-to-school list might look a little different compared to the one from last year.

Two and a half years since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, mandates and responses to the virus have shifted, moving away from mandatory masking.

Ahead of the school year, the Health Department of Northwest Michigan offered different guidelines for schools, offering advice on how they can best keep people safe.

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When it comes to determining whether masking should be mandatory in schools, the health department’s medical director Joshua Meyerson said that as most areas in Northern Michigan have low risk of transmission levels, he does not think masks need to be mandatory in classrooms.

Meyerson told the Petoskey News-Review that while a surge in cases is expected this fall, they are not expected to be as bad as they were in fall or winter 2021 with the delta and omicron variants.

He said the department is working with districts in Charlevoix, Emmet, Antrim and Otsego counties to help set guidelines, and unless the transmission risk moves up, he doesn’t see a need for changes in the guidelines. Antrim County is the only county the department oversees with a medium risk level, as of Sept. 1, according to the MI Safe Start Map.

For Harbor Springs Public Schools Superintendent Brad Plackemeier, the district is beginning to look a bit more like how it did prior to the pandemic.

While the district is still doing extra cleaning, there are no additional guidelines since the end of the previous school year. The district is also still following guidelines from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.

When it comes to the return to normalcy, Plackemeier said it’s good to have kids back in the buildings, while having more available opportunities for routine building for them.

“It puts (students) in a good spot for learning,” he said. “It's just a good energy — having kids in. We're able to do more of the things that we were able to do pre-pandemic.”

He said some students and staff members are wearing masks in the schools, though it is not required.

For the majority of schools in the area, masks are not required in the classroom. However, Meyerson does encourage people to stay on top of vaccinations — noting that the COVID-19 vaccine and its booster shots are all available to anyone over the age of 12. The first round of vaccines are approved for younger children as well.

Meyerson emphasized the importance of mitigating the transmission of the virus, like masking up after potential exposures and testing any time you feel sick. Along with mitigation comes vaccines.

When it comes to vaccine hesitancy, he said it’s important for parents to have a good way to get information for their children, so it’s important for them to check with the health department, their doctors and their providers.

“I think we have a lot of good information for parents because it's natural for them to have questions,” Meyerson said. "Given where we are and that hundreds of millions of doses of COVID vaccines that have been provided to people safely, I still recommend that everyone who is eligible for COVID vaccine, it's probably the best thing they can do to reduce the risk of becoming seriously ill — and that's really for all age groups.”

He also said in the school environment, it’s important for people to feel comfortable and supported with the choices they make regarding masking.

While plans for the following school year regarding COVID-19 can be expected to change with potential outbreaks and raised transmission risks, the school year will start looking close to a pre-pandemic norm.

The Public Schools of Petoskey will not be requiring masks in their schools but will continue offering a COVID-19 testing center Monday-Friday from 7:45-8:30 a.m. at the Spitler Administration Building. The district is also participating in the State of Michigan's Backpacking Program, offering rapid COVID-19 tests to families to use at home.

Local schools from Cheboygan to the Sault Ste. Marie area are continuing to encourage their students to monitor for symptoms, test when necessary and practice good hygiene. Hand washing is heavily stressed, encouraging people to wash their hands in warm water for at least 20 seconds.

For K-12 schools, the state of Michigan is still encouraging isolation and quarantining guidelines for students that test positive or are exposed. A student that tests positive should isolate for five days and continue masking until all symptoms are gone.

For exposed students, it is recommended they monitor their symptoms for 10 days, wear a mask and get tested.

For more information on state guidelines, visit www.michigan.gov.

This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: How northern Michigan schools are returning to normalcy