Student: it's about staying in school

Esko senior Nate Rengo has been vocal about mask wearing at the high school, saying he advocates taking any “proactive” measures to avoid a school shutdown and missing school events in his final year. After a board meeting earlier in January when mask use was debated, Rengo wrote a letter and sent it to administration and teachers.

“We are in the middle of a huge surge of cases, and wearing masks could be the difference between online and in-person school,” Rengo wrote. “Distance learning is awful, just ask any student or teacher.”

And that is Rengo’s fear.

“Nobody wants to wear a mask, but when the choice is between a mask and distance learning, the choice is undisputed.”

Rengo said he eventually heard from the school board chairman, the superintendent and principal Greg Hexum. Rengo, who is the son of school board member Todd Rengo, said he had a conversation with Hexum. He said he felt heard, if not completely understood.

He said people are where they want to be on mask wearing, and he will continue to wear one. Since mask mandates were implemented recently in other area schools and cities, he’s seen a slight uptick in mask use at the high school.

He’s been wearing a mask since December, when cases began to rise in the state and region. About a dozen students have worn masks regularly that past month, he said.

“It’s unnerving,” he said in an interview, “that schools all around us are masked. Everyone but Esko.”

There are people on all sides of Covid-19 issues, he said. He just wants to finish out his final year of high school on campus and enjoy the events that cap high school life. If masks help make that happen, he said, the district should be more aggressive on mask wearing.

“This isn’t about politics,” he wrote in his letter. “It isn’t about one person’s opinion. It’s about keeping students in the classroom. The last two years have been overshadowed by Covid and the pandemic has taken away countless opportunities. Don’t let it take anything more from me and my fellow students.”