It鈥檚 the season of respiratory illnesses: COVID-19, the flu, and RSV. But masking among educators, as among the general population, is largely a thing of the past.
New nationally representative survey data from the EdWeek Research Center show that just 3 percent of educators say they wear a face mask daily or almost daily at work this school year. Sixty-one percent never do.
The other 36 percent say they wear a mask at work only in certain circumstances, like if they鈥檙e not feeling well or are trying to avoid getting sick.
The survey of nearly 1,000 teachers, school leaders, and district leaders was conducted between Nov. 30 and Dec. 6, as virus activity began to ramp up. Now, at the start of the new year, COVID-19 and flu cases are surging.
鈥淲e haven鈥檛 seen any signs that we鈥檙e peaking, especially in terms of influenza,鈥� said Andrew Pekosz, a professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health who studies respiratory viruses. 鈥淚 fully expect that for at least six to eight weeks, we鈥檒l have very significant respiratory virus activity across the country.鈥�
The EdWeek Research Center survey found no significant difference in mask-wearing between job titles鈥攖eachers were not more likely than administrators to wear a mask, for instance. But geography did influence educators鈥� masking decisions.
Seventy percent of educators working in a rural or town school district said they have never worn a mask this school year, compared to 58 percent in a suburban district and 51 percent in an urban district.
The size of the district also made a difference: Educators in smaller school districts were more likely to say they never wore a mask than those in districts with 10,000 or more students.
Teachers voice pros and cons of masking at work
Some teachers say teaching in a mask can be uncomfortable and makes it more difficult to connect with students, who can鈥檛 see their facial cues and smiles.
鈥淚 found it very difficult to talk and teach with a mask on,鈥� said Jayne Swan, a 3rd grade teacher in Brooklyn, N.Y., who stopped wearing a mask as soon as it was no longer required. 鈥淔or me personally, it was very uncomfortable. It made me feel hot and disgusting鈥攖alking all day inside that mask.鈥�
She had COVID-19 over winter break, but she said she isn鈥檛 too worried about picking up illnesses at work. She keeps a window cracked in her classroom and washes her hands frequently.
鈥淥ther than that, I don鈥檛 feel like the mask is necessarily going to help me,鈥� Swan said. 鈥淚鈥檓 surrounded by children all day.鈥�
Masks can also get in the way of teaching reading, since students watch teachers model the correct tongue placement and mouth formation when sounding out letters and words, educators have said. English learners are also watching their teachers鈥� mouths during pronunciation lessons.
Even so, teachers who have worn a mask regularly this school year say they鈥檝e remained healthy鈥攁nd they don鈥檛 want to forgo that protection.
鈥淚t鈥檚 more about reducing my overall risk,鈥� said Michaela Tracy, a high school math teacher in Lexington, Mass. 鈥淚鈥檓 more social now, and I鈥檇 rather not get sick at work. I鈥檇 rather minimize my contacts at work, so I feel more open about seeing ... [immuno]compromised family members.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 not just COVID, we have plenty of other illnesses going around,鈥� she added. 鈥淭here鈥檚 all kinds of things you just don鈥檛 want to get.鈥�
Tracy said she used to get sick three or four times a year from picking up germs at school. So far this school year, she hasn鈥檛 gotten sick at all.
Susan Smith, a secondary social studies teacher in Minnesota, said just two or three employees out of the 120 at her school regularly wear a mask. She鈥檚 one of them, mostly because her sister is going through chemotherapy. Smith is wary of bringing any infections to her.
So far this school year, Smith said she鈥檚 avoided getting COVID-19 or the flu, even though several teachers at her school were sick over winter break.
Smith said she鈥檚 had a few people question why she鈥檚 still wearing a mask when most others aren鈥檛, but she doesn鈥檛 mind: 鈥淭o me, my personal health is way more important than your opinion of me,鈥� she said.
Educators are masking less than a year-and-a-half ago
Mask-wearing among educators has decreased since the EdWeek Research Center鈥檚 last query about it in summer 2022.
Then, 12 percent said they planned to wear a mask regularly in the coming school year without it being required. Nearly half said they didn鈥檛 plan to wear a mask in the 2022-23 school year at all, and 36 percent said they鈥檇 wear one in certain circumstances, such as when they鈥檙e not feeling well.
A different EdWeek Research Center survey, conducted in fall 2022, found that most educators continue to go to work when they鈥檙e sick, in part because they feel like they have too much work to call in sick.
But public health experts say that going to work sick can spread viruses. Strategies like masking can help.
鈥淢ask requirements are no longer around, but certainly that doesn鈥檛 take away from the fact that masks are a proven way to limit the spread of respiratory infections,鈥� Pekosz said, adding that a well-fitting mask will help protect someone even if no one else in the room is wearing one.
People should also get vaccinated against both the flu and COVID-19 to prevent serious illness, he added.
