The state’s announcement this past week that school staff would have to wait farther back in line for COVID-19 vaccinations was slammed by local educator unions, and is making some school officials rethink school reopening timelines that hinged on teachers being inoculated.
The region’s largest teachers union, meanwhile, is digging its heels in on an issue that previously had not been the deal-breaker for a return to in-person classes.
“We’ve heard from lots more members – they do want the vaccine before they return,” said Roger Nugent, president of the Educational Association of Worcester, which earlier this month had identified upgrades of school building ventilation systems as its main priority for going back.
Updated on January 8, 2021 at 12:41 pm
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Students at Worcester Public Schools will continue learning from their homes for the foreseeable future after the school committee voted to indefinitely delay the start of in-person learning due to troubling COVID-19 trends in Massachusetts.
The Worcester Schools Committee unanimously supported the decision in a meeting Thursday night, and it was also backed by the Educational Association of Worcester.
The plan had initially been to bring high needs students back into classrooms on Jan. 25, with other students tentatively scheduled to return to in-person learning in March but that s now indefinitely delayed after Thursday s decision from school officials.
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Dennis Staples, who teaches automotive technology at Worcester Technical High School, has been watching coronavirus case counts remain high in Massachusetts this winter.
Staples is among educators in Worcester who are looking for accommodations as the start date for hybrid learning approaches this month. Because of a breathing disorder, Staples said he’s worried about contracting the virus in the classroom, where students and teachers historically work closely together.
“It is physically impossible to social distance in a shop setting because of the tools, the equipment,” Staples said. “We work basically hand-to-hand with the students, so the 6-feet thing is not going to work.”