COLUMBIA - Columbia Public Schools teachers are ready to get the COVID-19 vaccine after returning to in-person teaching, but they will have to wait.Â
Under Missouriâs vaccination plan, K-12 teachers are in Phase 1B - Tier 3. However, the state hasn t activated Tier 3 yet. The state started Phase 1B - Tier 2, but many mid-Missouri counties have not.
If a CPS employee qualifies to be vaccinated under Tier 2, such as those that are 65-years-old and over, they will be vaccinated in Phase 1B - Tier 2.Â
CPS elementary teacher and Columbia Missouri State Teachers Association (CMSTA) co-President Ariel Schwarting said she is okay with teaching in-person without a vaccine.
Columbia free computer program takes on more importance during coronavirus pandemic
COLUMBIA, Mo (KMIZ)
The Voluntary Action Center (VAC), Downtown Optimist Club, and city of Columbia are accepting applications for eligible, low-income residents of Columbia to receive a computer.
Advocates say having a computer is more important now than ever thanks to the coronavirus pandemic. Many doctor s office have increased their telehealth appointments and more schoolchildren are learning from home.
Olivia Little, Program Coordinator and Social Services Specialist for VAC said, Most years (the program) is intended for children to do schoolwork so the requirements typically include that you have a school-aged child . but this year we ve opened up the requirements, so you just need to be within 200% of the federal poverty guideline in Boone County this year, said Olivia Little, program coordinator and social services specialist for the VAC.
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During Monday evening’s more than four-hour meeting, the board got an update on COVID-19 from Superintendent Dr. Peter Stiepleman and heard from many concerned parents, teachers and staff – some in support of a return to in-seat learning and some in support of remaining entirely virtual.
Kathy Steinhof, the President of CMNEA, spoke first and urged the Board to consider the needs and fears of teachers before voting to send students back to in-seat learning.
“I am not dismissing the cost of being virtual. We know virtual learning is not ideal, and we are keenly aware that our students and our families and the community and our employees are facing other critical and unintended consequences of our district being virtual,” Steinhof said. “But virtual has kept many in our community safe and potentially alive. It doesn t make sense to give up on the data driven plan we have been committed to, and we re so close to the finish line.”
More than 200 Columbia Public Schools employees eligible for the first round of vaccine
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
As vaccine distribution continues across Mid-Missouri, a small group of Columbia Public Schools employees are able to sign up for a shot.
A spokeswoman for the district confirmed that 216 employees are now able to sign up to receive a vaccine from Boone Hospital. Those eligible are school nurses and special education staff with medically fragile students in-person.
In an email to teachers, the district said Boone Hospital has 150 vaccine doses available for that group right now, so not everyone in the group will be vaccinated right away. Employees who can receive the vaccine have been notified.