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Valley teachers talk vaccine, Light at the end of the tunnel
As more teachers received the COVID-19 vaccine, the path to normal in-person education is becoming clearer, despite lingering issues.
and last updated 2021-01-27 18:32:54-05
As more teachers received the COVID-19 vaccine, the path to normal in-person education is becoming clearer, despite lingering issues.
Teaching first graders in a virtual setting is far from ideal for Echo Mountain Primary School teacher Sara Vesci. This is why she s calling her successful first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine a light at the end of the tunnel to normal teaching. We are dying to get back with our kids. I know personally, I cannot wait until things are back to normal, said Vesci, who received her first dose of the vaccine on Sunday. Now I feel a little more safe when we got back in person.
The Peoria Unified School District board held a special meeting Jan. 13 to discuss the use of COVID-19 metrics being used to determine in-person and virtual learning.
The board meeting was informational, with no votes by the board members, but the community weighed in through online comments.
At its Dec. 10 meeting, PUSD governing board voted unanimously to keep classrooms open after winter break âregardless of the benchmark data.â
PUSD closed 13 schools for one day Jan. 11 after a teacher âsick out.â
Peoria Unified School District was one of the few public school districts to keep classrooms open after winter break. In the first week since, COVID-19 cases in the PUSD surrounding community increased by more than 50%, nearing 1,000 per 100,000 population over seven days. (Anything over 100 cases per 100,000 is considered âsubstantial spread.â)
The closures lasted only Monday, Jan. 11.
âWeâre back!â declared a PUSD Facebook post Tuesday, Jan. 12.
With the spread of COVID-19 accelerating, many districts around the West Valley closed classroomsâor kept them closedâwith online teaching only after winter break.
âBenchmarkâ metrics on the spread of COVID-19 in communities updated Jan. 7 showed slight improvements in Glendale and Peoria, though ZIP codes in both cities remain âin the redâ with substantial spread of coronavirus.Â
Peoria Unified was one of the few districts to keep classrooms open after the winter break.
On Friday, Jan. 8, the Peoria Education Association announced a one-day âsick out.âÂ
Peoria Unified School District discusses COVID-19 mitigation efforts
Meeting comes days after staged sickout over in-person learning.
and last updated 2021-01-14 00:23:53-05
PEORIA, AZ â The Peoria Unified School District discussed ways to improve COVID-19 mitigation efforts during a special meeting on Wednesday. The hope is for students and teachers to feel safer. What can we do? That is what we continue to focus on, says Superintendent Jason Reynolds, Peoria Unified School District.
The governing board addressed several issues, including reducing class size. Currently, there are many classes with more than 35 students. Whether it s class size, whether it s the air purifier, whether it s the steps that we re taking with our custodial partnerships. anything that we can continue to do that makes the learning experience not only actually better but feel better, says Reynolds.