Maaike Niekerk
On February 25th, just before 8:00pm, the Unit 4 school community received an email stating that starting the following Monday (February 28th), masks would be optional in all Unit 4 schools.
The message came from recently appointed superintendent Dr. Sheila Boozer, who stated in the email, “I believe our strong protocols have made our schools some of the safest places to be for students and staff.”
According to an email sent out to all Central families shortly after, the new guidelines are scheduled to be in place for “as long as we are considered to not be in a high transmission area and/or unless another decision is made by our local school board”.
The decision to go mask optional came following an appellate court ruling that allowed Illinois school districts to no longer require masks for teachers and students. During his announcement of lifting the restrictions, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker did state that “if a school mask mandate needs to go into effect in the future, [the Illinois government] will continue to have that authority.”
The sudden change came as a surprise to some, as the district had previously stated that mask restrictions would not be lifted until after spring break. However, almost a full month into a mask optional education, cases in Champaign County have decreased since the emergence of the Omicron variant. Champaign Central High School continues to be a mix of both students and staff choosing to wear or not to wear their masks. Teachers in foreign language classes and music classes, in particular, have expressed gratitude for being able to go mask optional, as their subjects were greatly impacted by the mandate.
The lifting of the mask mandate is prompting a slow return to normal throughout Central High School. As the weather gets warmer and Covid numbers continue to drop, Unit 4 is looking optimistically towards a more pandemic-free future.