School Staff Vaccinations In Spotlight As Schools Prep For 5 Days

CHESTER COUNTY, PA — A countywide council along with individual school boards in Chester and Delaware counties are calling on state officials to put school staff further up in the vaccine line, as districts prepare to bring students back to class every day.

The Chester County School Board Legislative Council is a collaborative group comprised of membership from all Chester County school districts, coordinated through the county's Intermediate Unit. In a unanimous vote Wednesday night, the council approved a resolution asking Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf, acting Secretary of Health Alison Beam, and the PA Department of Health to prioritize the health and safety of ALL educational staff by moving educators from vaccine Phase 1B to Phase 1A.

Phoenixville Area School District Board President Blake Emmanuel explained why the resolution is so important.

"We want all of our students back in school. And at the same time, we also need to consider the safety and well-being of those who are educating our students: from the janitor who opens the building and the secretary who answers the first call, to the principal who manages their building and the teachers and aides who spend countless hours working directly with students, to the cafeteria staff who feed our children and the nurses who care for the sick, to the counselors who support our students during these challenging times and the maintenance folks who keep the buildings running, to the administrators who work long hours on tech, curriculum, specialized services, and more. All of these individuals deserve to be prioritized for getting the COVID-19 vaccine," said Emmanuel, who also serves as co-chair for the Chester County School Board Legislative Council.

Phoenixville Area School District will vote on a similar resolution specific to PASD in its March 8 school board meeting, Emmanuel said.

The West Chester Area School District board this week wrote a letter pressing elected officials to get teachers vaccinated before students are back in school five days a week. The WCASD board letter said, "unlike 22 states, Pennsylvania has not prioritized vaccinating its teachers and school staff. Pennsylvania ranks 44th in percent of vaccines distributed, so even the vaccines we do receive are taking too long to be administered. We are far from vaccinating all who are designated as 1a, and most teachers and staff are designated 1b. Even within the 1b category, teachers receive no special priority."

"We can, and we should, move our teachers up in the vaccine queue," the board's letter to elected officials said.

Radnor Township School District board on Feb. 23 approved a resolution that "calls upon the Pennsylvania Department of Health, and acting director of the PA Department of Health Alison Beam, to prioritize and support the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines to school district employees."

The RTSD resolution cited plans for vaccinating school district employees that should already be underway, noting "the Superintendents of Delaware County, along with the Chester County Health Department and the Delaware County COVID Task Force, have developed a vaccination plan for school district employees starting Feb. 13, 2021."

Chester County Health Department Director Jeanne Franklin yesterday pointed out that vaccinating of school staff is not a prerequisite for for a return to in-person learning. She said that since early in the pandemic schools in Chester and Delaware counties have been implementing "mitigation measures that are layered and carefully monitored by school pandemic teams." Franklin said schools "have been doing this for a long time" and added, "We trust their commitment to continue doing it."

The push to vaccinate teachers is not limited to Radnor or Phoenixville or West Chester or even Chester County. A petition has circulated this week on change.org asking that teachers be given COVID-19 vaccines "NOW." The petition has received more than 8,000 of the 10,000 signatures it has aimed for.

A national poll, not specific to Pennsylvania, released Feb. 17 by Morning Consult found that 55 percent of voters said states should wait to reopen schools until teachers have received the vaccine, while 34 percent said schools should be reopened as soon as possible, even if not every teacher has been vaccinated. Morning Consult describes itself as a data intelligence firm.

All education staff remains in Phase 1B for vaccination, along with clergy, corrections staff, law enforcement, firefighters, food and agriculture workers, grocery store staff, caregivers for children and adult daycare, manufacturing staff, transit workers, USPS staff, and veterinarians.

Read a story about Chester County Health Department updated guidance here.

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