Since Poly’s transition to hybrid learning last spring and the complete return to campus this fall, face masks have been a routine part of campus life.
Oct. 4 brought about change when Poly released a mask protocol update. The update shared that while face coverings indoors remain mandatory, vaccinated Upper School students and faculty were now allowed to take off their masks indoors unless they were interacting with students in grades K-6.
Several factors were considered in determining the new policy.
“We knew that we were testing kids regularly and that there had been no positive cases,” said Director of Health Services and Registered Nurse Marcy Kwitny. “We also knew that we had a high vaccine record: 99% of high school students and 98% of faculty and staff.”
Upper School Director Ara Brown added, “The basis of all of our policies come from the Pasadena Department of Health, so that is always the minimum of what we cover, and sometimes we go an extra step. So when we had our mandate that students needed to wear masks outside, that was a step more than what the health department was asking. But now we’re in a good place, so we can roll back some of those original policies.”
“I am a bit indifferent to the new mask policy because I still find myself wearing my mask outdoors out of habit. However, I don’t mind others being mask-less outdoors,” expressed Melisa Luis, a senior. “I feel safe regardless of the new policy because most people at Poly are vaccinated, and COVID-19 testing is still widely accessible.”
Freshman Lyla Pak agreed, “I think the new mandate is a good idea, but I, personally, still like to keep a mask on outside.”
Others feel that the recent change has compromised their safety on campus. Freshman Phoebe Cho remarked, “I think the new mask mandate is kind of stressful because people do not really distance themselves when their mask is off outside.”
Though safety measures remain the number one concern, the Poly administration wants to be respectful of everyone’s decision to wear or not wear a mask.
“I think there will always be a small number of people that make that decision for a multitude of reasons, and we want to recognize and honor when people aren’t able to for medical reasons or when they don’t want to for personal reasons,” shared Brown.
