ENVIRONMENTAL CHARTER SCHOOL BOARD APPROVES VACCINE MANDATE FOR STAFF
Contact:
Deana Callipare, communications manager
(412) 247-7970 x200
For Immediate Release
ENVIRONMENTAL CHARTER SCHOOL BOARD APPROVES VACCINE MANDATE FOR STAFF
PITTSBURGH (Aug. 23, 2021)— The Environmental Charter School’s (ECS) Board of Trustees approved a COVID-19 employee vaccination policy on August, 18, 2021, becoming one of the first K–12 school districts in the Pittsburgh area to require staff vaccinations.
“At ECS, we believe that it is our duty and responsibility to provide a safe and healthy work and learning environment for our entire community, students and staff. The COVID-19 virus is a known hazard that we hope to mitigate the spread of through this policy,” Dr. James Doyle, COO said.
The board passed the mandatory Employee Vaccination Policy 12-0 with four members not in attendance. Under this requirement, all staff must provide proof of full vaccination status or regularly submit COVID-19 test results. This decision comes as students enter the classroom for the start of the 21–22 school year.
During his address to the ECS Board of Trustees, Dr. Doyle quoted President Biden and echoed his sentiment around the power employers have to help end the pandemic.
“As an organization, our greater ECS community has shared responsibility to get vaccinated to protect our students, staff, families, friends and the greater Pittsburgh region,” Doyle said. “It starts with us, and if we work together for the greater good, we will see an end to this pandemic.”
“COVID has presented us with many challenges, many of which have been out of our control. We have a responsibility to our school community to be vigilant in all areas that are under our control: universal masking, mandating vaccination for all eligible adults, encouraging vaccination for all eligible children, and providing safe and clean spaces for our children to learn,” Sapna Parker, ECS Board member and local pediatrician said.
Reasonable accommodations are available for exempt individuals who cannot receive the COVID-19 vaccine for medical or religious reasons. Additional accommodations will be determined on a case by case basis in order to meet the individual's needs while adhering to the district’s health and safety policies.
“Our youngest students, who cannot yet be vaccinated, are counting on us to protect them as best as we can by having as many adults around them vaccinated as possible,” Parker said.
At the conclusion of the 20–21 school year, 95% of ECS’s employees reported that they were fully vaccinated. ECS has added 40 new staff members as of the start of the 2021-2022 school year and hopes to increase its percentage of vaccinated employees to provide an extra layer of security to its current health and safety plan and to serve as a model for other districts to enact similar policies.
Staff must get vaccinated or reach out to human resources to discuss accommodations or regular testing by Sept. 15, 2021.
About ECS:
The Environmental Charter School is a tuition free K-10 charter school in Pittsburgh, Pa. ECS combines the academic rigor of the best public schools with a multi-disciplinary, “out-the-door” learning approach rooted in real world problems that build active, engaged and empathetic citizens.
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