Multiple CO Teachers Caught Directing Students To Tape Masks To Their Faces

Please, say it ain't so.

Last month, four teachers employed at a middle school in Colorado Springs were found to have "violated district policy and procedure" when they reportedly directed their students to tape their masks onto their faces.

According to the Denver Post, the parent of a student who attends Chinook Trail Middle School first raised concerns over masks being taped to students' faces, should any student be wearing his/hers incorrectly, on Oct. 15.

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Academy District 20, the school district that Chinook Trail belongs to, did their own internal investigation into the matter, and wound up receiving statements from over 100 students, 10 teachers, and school staff, and found that the “teaching team of 642” did, in fact, violate policy and procedure, as per reports from the school district.

“While we found that the teachers did NOT affix any student’s mask to their face, we did learn teachers directed students to affix their mask to their face with tape; and students believed they were required, by a teacher, to use tape to affix their mask to their face,” Tom Andrew, principal of Chinook Trail Middle School said in a statement addressing the school community.

The four teachers at Chinook Trail who were found to have been in violation of school policy actually wrote out apology letters to students and their families -

“It was never our intent to cause anxiety, fear, confusion, or physical or emotional harm,” the apology letter said. “Our greatest desire was to keep students in our classrooms and prevent quarantines due to COVID exposure. To follow district policy and keep students engaged with in-person learning, our team made a mistake in our methods. Please accept our deepest and most heartfelt apologies.”

As for the punishment(s) these teachers will face, Academy District 20 did not disclose the actions they'd be taking against the teachers - if any.

“We are disappointed, both by the decisions made and the outcome of the investigation. More importantly, we are disappointed this event led to learning and social and emotional impacts to our students and their families,” Andrew said. “Personnel matters are confidential, and I, therefore, cannot comment on the specifics of the investigation as it relates to our staff.”

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