Sam Raudins reports for Columbia-Greene Media that Catskill students and staff will be physically distanced in classrooms, wear face coverings regardless of vaccination status, and the school staff will keep cleaning and disinfecting District Superintendent Ronel Cook said Aug. 26. Classes in Catskill begin Sept. 13. Masks will be required inside school buildings and on school buses for everyone. Masks will be optional outside and students will be provided with mask breaks when seated in classrooms and physically distanced. “Given this guidance from the CDC, the district anticipates that fewer students will likely be quarantined by adhering to the recommendation to require mask wearing in our schools regardless of vaccination status,” Cook said. Parents in favor, and against mask wearing both gave the school input, and Cook says they are following the science and the state mandates. Except the school is skirting the CDC recommendation that schools located in regions classified as a “high” community transmission zone must either cancel higher-risk sports or ensure that all students participating in higher-risk athletic teams are fully vaccinated. In Catskill that would mean no girls’ volleyball, football, and cheerleading, but Catskill is ignoring that advice so far. “The district is conferring with other schools within our league and the New York state Public High School Athletic Association to examine this requirement. Parents of all students including those registered for interscholastic athletics are encouraged to consider vaccination in consultation with your child’s primary care provider,” Cook said. Read more about this story at HudsonValley360.com.