‘Go show off your beautiful face.’ Fayette families make mask choices on first optional day
Tuesday morning, Dave Mcalpine kissed his kindergartener, Ainsley, as she prepared to spend her first maskless day at Lexington’s Liberty Elementary School and said “Go show off your beautiful face.”
“She hasn’t had the chance to be in school face wide open,” Mcalpine said as he dropped Ainsley off in the morning car line.
Minutes later, Madeline Graham pulled up to the school with her daughter, Ava, also in kindergarten. Both mother and daughter were wearing masks.
“I think we are going to stick with masks” for now, said Graham. That’s because she said her daughter has “additional needs” and may not be aware of hygiene precautions she needs to take to ward against COVID-19.
After months under a mandate, face masks became optional in all Fayette district facilities and on school buses Tuesday.
Superintendent Demetrus Liggins said that the district also will lift all COVID-19 restrictions on school visitors and volunteers beginning Monday, March 21.
Lexington-Fayette County Health Department officials have said COVID-19 levels in the community have reached the point where schools can ease some of their existing requirements and follow Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance for a community level of medium.
School district officials are supporting families who choose either option with a campaign called, “Either way is OK.”
Mask optional will be a major change for students and staff, said Liberty Elementary Principal Lisa Kear. Children walked into the school building Tuesday both wearing masks and free of a face covering.
Mcalpine said their family made the decision that their daughter would not wear a mask.
“Our family is of the belief that the masks never worked to begin with,” said Mcalpine, a registered nurse. “The consequences of wearing the masks that we are seeing and will see with our children are going to be worse than the pandemic.”
Graham said if the number of COVID-19 cases stay low, she probably won’t worry about wearing masks much longer unless they are around people vulnerable to COVID.
Teryl Greist Wylie said she gave her daughter, Maelyn Greist, a junior at Frederick Douglass High School, the choice to make her own decision. Maelyn decided not to wear a mask Tuesday.
“She was most excited to see her teachers’ faces. To me that says so much about the effect on our kids of masking in schools for this long,” said Wylie. Wylie said she was thankful that Liggins was “finally,” lifting the mandate, “but it’s definitely been a very long two years fighting for our kids.”