Head Start Centers still require Face Masks

Dear Parents/Guardians,

Late last week, the CDC released new recommendations on COVID-19 precautions based on the level of spread in the community.  Their recommendations show three clear levels of COVID-19 in a community: low, medium, or high. Today, Washington County is in the medium level.  These levels allow prevention measures to be dialed up or down depending on the level of each community.  As a result, you may have heard that effective today, WCPS has relaxed masking in schools and on buses.  Masking is now optional.

However, Head Start of Washington County is still under a Federal mandate from the Office of Head Start requiring masking for all children, families, staff and visitors to our centers.  That mandate is still the requirement for our program so essentially nothing has changed for our agency at this point.  The children in our program are almost entirely under the age of 5 and therefore not eligible for vaccination.  The CDC still recognizes that wearing a mask continues to be a key strategy to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. Mask use lowers the risk of spread between people, protects both wearers and those around them, and helps protect those who cannot be vaccinated.  It is our #1 priority to keep our children and staff as safe as possible and our classrooms open for in person learning!

Thank you!

Vicki Robinson, MSW

Executive Director

Head Start of Washington County