Broken Arrow Public Schools Educators to Receive COVID-19 Vaccine on Higher Priority
Educators from across the state, including Broken Arrow Public Schools, have been moved up in prioritization in the national vaccine rollout in order to better combat the COVID-19 virus.
All Pre-K-12 teachers and support staff now fall into Level Two of the distribution plan.
“We know our kids are struggling without being able to attend school in person,” said Gov. Kevin Stitt. “Our teachers are so important to our children and to our state, I know they battled through many challenges this year to change how they teach to try and make sure their students don’t fall through the cracks. That’s why I’m so proud to work with Commissioner Frye and the Oklahoma State Department of Health to prioritize our educators for the COVID-19 vaccine and help get our kids back in the classroom.”
Increased vaccination priority for teachers coupled with the recent decision by the Centers for Disease Control to reduce quarantines to 10 or seven days under certain circumstances should give schools multiple tools to fight COVID-19 in the spring semester.
“In a semester where everyone was forced to shift paradigms and pivot at a moment’s notice, our teachers have shown how much perseverance they possess and how much sacrifice they can make to keep our students learning in person,” said Dr. Janet Vinson, superintendent of Broken Arrow Public Schools.
“They’ve gone above and beyond and stayed the course this school year, modifying lesson plans and straddling the line between distance and in-person learning—all while maintaining passion and a love for students. We continue to give the utmost praise and thanks to our teachers for staying the course, and this opportunity for them to choose to be immunized more quickly is a light at the end of the tunnel.
“Our Board of Education has been instrumental in supporting our educators through this challenging semester—something we are so grateful for as a district. We also cannot express our gratitude enough to Gov. Stitt for making our educators a high priority in a long-fought battle during this pandemic.”
In addition to moving teachers up in priority for the vaccine, the state health department continues to offer schools access to testing to provide frequent monitoring for COVID-19.
