While Peoria Unified and Deer Valley school districts are giving students the option of online or in-classroom learning, Glendale Elementary School District is keeping its classrooms closed.
On Thursday, Jan. 21, after Maricopa County updated its school metrics site, GESD Superintendent Cindy Segotta-Jones posted a message notifying families district classrooms would remain closed.
âTo ensure the safety of all, GESD will continue in a virtual model and monitor all data to determine when it is safe to return,â she wrote. She noted district ZIP codes âshow extremely high positivity rates pertaining to COVID-19.â
The data showed the communities surrounding GESD schools had more than 900 new cases per 100,000 population over the last week.
Public school districts are monitoring West Valley surges in COVID-19 spread â while hoping to get as many teachers as possible vaccinated.
One West Valley district pushed reopening classrooms until March 15, to give teachers and staff time to get vaccinations.
While educators are in the 1B group that is eligible for coronavirus vaccinations, many are finding difficulty in landing appointments. This is part of a county-wide trend of demand exceeding the vaccine supply.
Agua Fria Unified High School District is partnering with Abrazo West Campus to host an educator point of distribution (POD). âThe first vaccine event will be held Jan. 29 and 30,â said Tamee Gressett, a district administrator. âThe second vaccine event will be held Feb. 19-20.â
PHOENIX (KPHO/KTVK) Advocates are calling for the state and counties to prioritize people with developmental and intellectual disabilities. The Arizona Center for Disability Law sent a letter to the Arizona Department of Health Services offering recommendations for the state’s distribution plan.
“Many people within our community are worried about COVID-19 and when they will get vaccinated,” said Sey In, an attorney with ACDL.
In said people with developmental and intellectual disabilities are often at greater risk of getting sick or dying from the virus. Right now, it is unclear when they will be able to get vaccinated.
“There is not really a lot of clear guidance as to when priority would happen,” said In.
PHOENIX (KPHO/KTVK) Sophia Garcia just might be the most popular 8-year-old around. Her phone rings constantly! But it’s not friends. It’s strangers wanting information about the COVID-19 vaccine in Arizona. “Every five minutes my phone keeps ringing,” said Sophia.
Sophia, who lives in Missouri, calls it an annoying problem. Her mom, Emily Lewis, said they’ve been getting calls at all hours of the night for about a week and a half. “We just went through and deleted probably 30 to 40 phone calls,” said Lewis.
Garcia used to live Arizona, so she has a Phoenix phone number. Her mom discovered that was part of the problem. Sophia’s cell phone number is just one digit off from Arizona’s COVID-19 vaccine helpline.
Do Arizona COVID-19 vaccination sites have enough bilingual assistance?
State representative worries there are not enough interpreters to serve Spanish population.
and last updated 2021-01-16 21:10:55-05
GLENDALE, AZ â Spanish is the second most-spoken language in Arizona, according to the U.S Census.
So, how are we making sure Spanish speakers are getting the proper information about getting vaccinated in their own language?
ABC15 reached out to The Arizona Department of Health Services requesting the number of Spanish language interpreters helping at the vaccination site located at the State Farm Stadium in Glendale.
A spokesperson told us they had a contract with a company that provides Spanish language interpreters as well as American Sign Language (ASL) and help for the visually impaired 24/7.