OKLAHOMA CITY (March 8, 2021) – Thanks to an anonymous donor, every public school in Oklahoma will receive four KN95 masks for every teacher and school staffer. These shipments come at a time when the vast majority of school districts are having in-person learning amid a statewide drop in COVID-19 cases.

“Masks are important in our arsenal of successful COVID-19 mitigation strategies,” said State Superintendent of Public Instruction Joy Hofmeister. “We are extremely grateful to this donor for prioritizing our hard-working school personnel who have been on the frontlines of this pandemic.”

The Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE) is partnering with the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security (ODEMHS), a consortium of school safety officers, and a network of city, county and tribal emergency managers to help distribute the masks over the next two weeks.

“We are truly appreciative of this generous donation and for the invaluable teamwork involved in making sure the masks are delivered to each school across the state,” said Mark Gower, ODEMHS Director.

In addition to 400,000 KN95 masks, the donation also included 60,000 adult surgical masks, 104,000 youth masks for ages 6-12 and 50,000 masks for children up to 5 years of age.