Date: August 14, 2021
\r\nThe Beebe Board of Education held a meeting this morning, August 14, 2021, at 9 am. The first action item on the agenda was the issue of Face Coverings. You may view the Slides that include parent and staff survey results here. With great consideration, the Beebe School District School Board has approved a Resolution to require masks indoors for all individuals 2 years and older who are present on school campuses or in school vehicles or buses through September 20, 2021. You may view the full Resolution here. On September 20, the School Board will reevaluate the Resolution based on current COVID numbers within the Beebe community.
\r\nThe rationale for the Board of Education’s decision regarding this matter is as follows:
\r\nStudent and staff safety is the number one priority for the district.
Avoid quarantines at school based on unvaccinated individuals who are not wearing masks. Quarantine guidelines dictate that anyone within 6 feet of a positive COVID case for 15 minutes who is NOT wearing a mask and has not been vaccinated must quarantine. At this time, the vaccine is only available for those 12 years and older. A large portion of our student population is younger than 12 years old. By requiring masks on campus, the number of quarantined students will decrease significantly, allowing us to continue to provide quality, in-person instruction to our students.
We are so excited to have our kids back with us for in-person learning and want to do everything we can to ensure our students can stay on site with us. We will have masks available as needed at all campuses for our staff, students, and guests.
\r\nWe appreciate your support and understanding as we implement this Resolution, which is entirely based on our goal of providing a safe environment in which high quality instruction and learning is a top priority. This Resolution is also based on a surge in our community of positive COVID-19 cases, which we hope changes in the near future.
\r\nIf you have any questions, please contact me at cnail@beebeschools.org. You may always view the most up to date COVID protocols for the 2021-22 school year at bit.ly/bsdcovid2122.
\r\nChris Nail, Ed. D.
\r\nSuperintendent
\r\nBeebe School District