ANN ARBOR – Ann Arbor Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Jeanice Kerr Swift announced a districtwide mask mandate for the 2021-2022 school year in an update sent to the community on Friday.
Citing recent recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Swift said all students, staff and visitors inside AAPS school buildings will be required to wear masks.
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“A simple step - wearing our masks while indoors - provides another layer of protection to improve overall health and safety and mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in our schools and community this fall,” Swift wrote.
The second piece to AAPS’ COVID safety strategy is vaccination, Swift said.
As a result, all AAPS staff and contractors are expected to self-report their vaccination status to the district. If they fail to do so, they must agree to weekly COVID testing throughout the school year.
“In maintaining our attention to two key strategies, vaccination and universal masking indoors, we can all feel more comfortable and confident that we are doing our part to keep our schools healthy and safe, particularly for those children under age 12 who are not yet able to receive vaccination,” she wrote.
Swift said more details for the Fall 2021 COVID safety plan will be revealed this month.