It's been a few weeks now since the statewide mask mandate was lifted for schools and child care centers.

For some of the youngest learners, it's the first time they've been able to go to school without masks on.

What You Need To Know

  • The statewide mask mandate for schools and child care centers was lifted March 2
  • Many children in the preschool and early intervention age groups had only experienced school with masks on
  • Some educators are already seeing changes in students' development 

It's story time in Hillary Wassel's classroom at WeeCan Preschool and Child Care in Orchard Park. She's been a teacher there for seven years — and there's never a dull moment.

"I thoroughly love this age group,” Wassel said. “I feel with this age group you truly see what great gains they can make in just a school year, in a few months.”

For some of these kids, they're experiencing school for the first time without wearing a face mask. While keeping health and safety at the forefront over the last two years, it has been a challenge in many ways, especially for students learning how to speak. 

"Sometimes it's difficult to understand them,” Wassel said. “And they would kind of either become quiet, or some kids would divert the question or shut down a little because they felt a little bit put on the spot with their masks.”

Many children have known nothing different than wearing face coverings in the classroom. Wassel said because of that, kids and teachers were able to adapt to best meet the students’ needs. While some were apprehensive at first about taking off the masks in school, they've mostly grown accustomed to the change. 

Amanda Deet is a speech language pathologist at the preschool. In her experience, the masks sometimes acted as a barrier to development, with kids and adults not able to see each other’s mouths.

"Progress was very slow,” Deet said. “Before 2020, I was seeing a lot more progress with kids and with this, the progress was very minimal.”

But after just a few weeks since the masks came off, she's seen an improvement.

"Kids are now seeing me and they're modeling me,” she said. “They're looking in the mirrors and they're watching themselves without the mask so they can see what they're supposed to be doing, and I am seeing a lot of progress.”

Beyond the academics, there's also the social and emotional learning — seeing expressions and how others react.

"They're definitely enjoying seeing their peers,” Wassel said. “I feel like their interactions with their peers are a little bit stronger because they're seeing when their friends are smiling.”

There are plenty of reasons to smile as they continue to adapt and grow, just like they have all along.