OHIO — Getting word that school employees are next in line for vaccinations was one thing.
But returning to school as a contingency is another.
Now that the COVID-19 vaccine is on the way, Akron Public Schools is tasked with a safe reopening. For Superintendent David James, the concern right now is that, “A lot of it is going to be based on whether the health department gets enough doses. At least it’s the first vaccination, and how that gets done.”
So far, about 1,800 employees in the district said they’ll take the vaccine, but not knowing if they’ll have the right amount of staff taking the vaccine could potentially leave the the district short and slow their opening. Even if they have enough, James said he understands parents may not want their children in school quite yet.
“We believe there will be a certain number of our parents who will want their kids to continue with online learning, and we’ll have to be able to do that as well as have a certain segment of our population in school.”
As of now, James said they’ve set a soft window through March 22 for opening because there’s so many factors at play with the vaccine.
“So, we’re actually reaching out to other partners to see if they could actually administer the vaccine by partnering with our local health department,” James said.
But the district isn’t alone in this. Just as the Cuyahoga Health Department indicated it is behind with the first group getting vaccinated. CEO Eric Gordon released this statement to parents and the community earlier this week:
“… The transition to K-12 employees will depend upon when the city’s health department has completed vaccinations of first responders, health care providers and nursing home residents.”
For districts like Akron Public Schools, getting staff vaccinated has nothing to do with getting kids to school and feeding them using COVID guidelines — two of their biggest problems. In spite of the work ahead and the uncertainty, James said he feels good about the direction they’re headed with the vaccine and getting kids back to school soon.
James said they may have to go all the way through the summer to get employees vaccinated if the roll out to the 1B group is slow or there’s not enough.
