Southern Boone School District held virtual classes today due to teacher vaccinations
ASHLAND, MO (KMIZ)
The Southern Boone School District announced Tuesday evening it would hold all classes virtually on Thursday, due to staff vaccinations.
Southern Boone School District's Superintendent, Chris Felmlee, says it was a collaborative effort to make the decision to hold classes online after staff members received their second dose of the Moderna vaccine. Felmlee says the district wanted to provide staff members time to recover from any side effects they may have experienced after receiving their second vaccine dose at its clinic Wednesday.
"I really didn't want to risk calling parents at 6 a.m. in the morning and letting them know that we wouldn't be in session today, so back on Tuesday, Tuesday evening, I made the announcement that we would move to virtual instruction for Thursday only, and so far the feedback was positive they appreciated the advanced notice,", said Felmlee.
He said he feels he made the right decision as many staff members reported feeling side effects of the vaccine. The district will hold in-person classes tomorrow, staff members and students are expected to return to their normal schedule. Felmlee says a handful of teachers from each school will not come back to work tomorrow due to still feeling side effects from the vaccine. He says the district is confident it will have enough subs to cover teacher's absences.
Mallory McGowin, a spokesperson for the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, says districts and schools all across the state have modified its' schedule in order to accommodate teacher's recovery after getting vaccinated.
"Whether it's remote learning or a half-day of some kind, something where our staff can have some easy logistics when they think about being away from school and having to call for a sub that's hard for many of our educators, so when we provide an option like that for them it makes it a little easier,", said McGowin.
McGowin says the department is happy to see educators moving forward in the vaccination process and that leaders are taking the time to accommodate their schedules for the safety of teachers and staff.
61.3% of Columbia Public Schools' staff members have been vaccinated. According to the district's dashboard, as of Monday 2,101 staff members have been vaccinated. Many of CPS staff has already received their second dose of the vaccine.
CPS high school teacher, Susie Adams, says many of her co-workers, like herself, are already considered fully vaccinated, as they received their second dose 2 weeks ago. Adams says she felt achy and tired after getting her second dose, but she was on spring break during that appointment, so it didn't affect her work schedule. Adams says colleagues have had worse symptoms having to call in from work for a few days.
Adams, like other educators, said she feels safer interacting with students and co-workers in a classroom environment, as it provides an extra layer of safety. Some of Adam's high school students have also moved forward in getting vaccinated, as the starting eligible age is 16.
As of Thursday, Boone County has administered 115,032 vaccine doses. 454,747 people in Boone County have completed the vaccination process, which is 25.3% of the county's population. The state has administered 3,237,004 vaccine doses, of that 1,338,159 Missourians have completed the vaccination process. Only 32.8% of Missourians have started the vaccination process.
