Osseo District to No Longer Require Teachers to Wear Face Shields

Beginning next week, the Osseo School District will no longer require teachers and staff to wear both face shields and masks. Instead, teachers will only be required to wear masks. 

In a voluntary survey, as of Friday morning, about 1,200 staff members say they’ve received the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine. That’s about one-third of all Osseo district educators. A little more than 700 staff members say they’ve already scheduled or received the second dose.

Laurel Anderson, executive director of human resources for Osseo School District, said the data helps the district understand if they need to take extra safety measures.

“If we have the majority of staff vaccinated, we may be able to not require a face shield. Instead, we’ll do two masks or simply one mask,” explained Anderson.

Anderson expects that majority threshold to be reached.

The data also helps to proactively get substitute teachers or paraprofessionals if employees report reactions to the second dose of vaccine.

“I think when we get the second vaccine, people will feel even more confident and comfortable in an environment where we do best. We do best with kids right front of us, working together,” Anderson said.

Currently, there is no school-wide clinic for vaccinations. However, the district does offer saliva testing for staff every two weeks.