Dear McCall Parents and Caregivers,
I hope this message finds you well. As Superintendent Hackett noted in his update sent out this weekend, the District is currently negotiating with the WEA, the teacher union, on the issue of making masks optional. The day to make that transition has not come yet, so it is important to remind all students that although masking is no longer required in other schools or in other public indoor settings, it is still required when they are in McCall Middle School.
Although the decision about the transition to a mask optional learning environment is yet to be made, it appears the move toward that direction will be coming. Therefore, I would like to share with you this Boston Globe article that I believe does a great job of outlining the complications about this transition for students and their families that you may or may not have considered (please click here).
As the author of the article noted, many students may have little trouble adjusting to a mask optional environment. However, some students will struggle adapting to yet another change. I think it is important for adults to check in with their own students to probe their thinking and feeling about this this matter and not assume every child is feeling okay with this transition. When the time does come for us to move to a mask optional environment, the message my staff and I will emphasize to the students are the following:
· We all have different needs, and we may not completely know or understand what are driving people’s masking decisions. Therefore, we should all remind our students to refrain from making judgments about other people’s decisions and pressuring them to take steps they do not feel comfortable taking.
· Our goal is to create an environment where everyone is free to make their own masking decisions. Our goal is not to make everyone agree with or even fully understand other people’s decisions.
· I also encourage everyone to remind students about the idea of intent versus impact. For example, I can foresee situations where behaviors such as asking others about their masking decisions were intended to fulfill feelings of curiosity. However, the way that the questions are asked and the persistent way those questions are being asked may create a negative impact on those who are receiving the questions.
Thank you, and I hope I can count on everyone’s support as we transition to yet another “new normal”.
James Lin
Principal
McCall Middle School
