Private schools in Greenwood, on the southside and in Franklin have different approaches when it comes to wearing masks.
At Roncalli High School, a southside Catholic school that attracts Johnson County high school students, masks have been optional since the start of the school year. The school is working in conjunction with the Archdiocese of Indianapolis and the Marion County Health Department to determine guidelines, said Kevin Banich, the school’s interim principal.
“Roncalli is mask-optional and currently encouraging all faculty, students and staff to wear masks,” Banich said. “We’ll continue to work with the Marion County Department of Public Health and the Archdiocese to monitor the situation closely and monitor the data closely.”
Greenwood Christian Academy will also keep masks optional, and has had a limited number of cases, said Mike Chitty, superintendent.
Chitty did not have the total number of cases prepared by press time.
“It’s very much a very different year for us compared to last year,” Chitty said. “We’ve had a couple of cases and a little bit of contact tracing, but they are very minor numbers and there’s not significant spread at school.”
At St. Rose of Lima Catholic School in Franklin, masks have been required since Aug. 26, according to the school’s website.
The school is following recently retired guidance from the Johnson County Health Department to require masks once 2% of students are out of school with a COVID-19 case. The school will return to a mask-optional policy once that figure is less than 1%, pastor Fr. Steve Schaftlein in a statement that can be read on the school’s website.
“In the last week, COVID infection rates have shot up dramatically in the local community,” Schaftlein said. “An increasing number of businesses, public facilities and schools are requiring the use of masks, The use of masks is one of the many levels of protection we can utilize to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.”
Although people may disagree with the mask mandate, it helps decrease the spread of the virus, Schaftlein said.
“All of us need to do what we can to protect the health of everyone in our community,” he said.
