HPISD: Masks To Be Optional Next School Year

Masks will be optional at Highland Park ISD campuses and facilities beginning next school year, the district shared in a letter to parents Tuesday.

HPISD Superintendent Dr. Tom Trigg said in the letter that the decision was made as more teachers and staff in the district get vaccinated for COVID-19 and cases have fallen in the district and have plateaued at a lower level in the county. 

“Our staff and students have shown tremendous resilience throughout the pandemic by continuing to teach and learn at the highest levels despite a very challenging situation for us all. None of us will ever forget this year,” Trigg wrote. “I am very encouraged that, as part of our collective efforts as a community, state and country, we appear to be turning a corner in terms of public health.”

Nearly since the district opened for in-person learning last September, parents have spoken at school board meetings calling for a plan to do away with masks in the classroom and return to a pre-pandemic normal, while trustees have said district staff felt masks were helping to keep them safe. 

HPISD trustee Tom Sharpe indicated in April’s school board meeting that the 2021-2022 school year would likely look more normal.

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Rachel Snyder

Rachel Snyder, former deputy editor at People Newspapers, joined the staff in 2019, returning to her native Dallas-Fort Worth after starting her career at community newspapers in Oklahoma. One of her stories won first place in its category in the Oklahoma Press Association’s Better Newspaper Contest in 2018. She’s a fan of puns and community journalism, not necessarily in that order.

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