Starting February 15, teachers and students in Wake County will return for personal learning. Many teachers have expressed concern that it is not yet certain.
“I can’t imagine being such a big system and not feeling the fear and the understanding, so my heart goes out to those people,” said Tonya Smith, a member of the North Carolina Association of Educators.
Smith is a high school teacher in Elkin, North Carolina, and has returned to class since October on a modified schedule.
“We had, of course, like everyone else, some cases, but not huge outbreaks, because our system is very small,” Smith said.
According to the state’s plan to launch vaccines, front-line workers, like teachers, are the next group in a COVID-19 vaccine.
“I’d like to see it move, if possible, especially for larger counties with such a large number of students,” Smith said.
Davie County was one of the first to vaccinate many of its teachers, and that’s something teachers would like to see done in other counties. However, Davie County has about 400 teachers, compared to Wake County, which has over 10,000 teachers.
On Thursday, Dr. Mandy Cohen, secretary of state for health and human services, said North Carolina should have enough vaccine to begin vaccinating the third phase of residents, which includes teachers, in a few weeks.
The Roy Cooper government has also announced a one-time bonus for educators for their work and dedication.
“We continue to push the administration hard to get more vaccines in North Carolina,” he said. “We want to reach teachers and other key workers as quickly as we can.”
“I’d love to get my vaccine – 100% yes – but I wouldn’t want to get it from someone who has life-threatening problems,” Smith said.
Lisa Luten, a spokeswoman for schools in Wake County, says the district continues to advocate for teachers to be vaccinated as soon as possible.