Berkeley agrees to timeline, vaccines for educators

BERKELEY >> Berkeley will begin scheduling vaccinations for all of the city’s public school educators starting next week, with a plan to have students return to the classroom late next month, the school district announced Wednesday.

Berkeley teachers and classified staffers who work in preschool to second grade will be able to sign up for vaccinations beginning Monday. The rest of elementary school staffs will be able to register beginning March 1, and secondary school educators can start making appointments March 8.

That means that students could return to school for a hybrid in-person learning model as soon as March 29 for preschool, transitional kindergarten and kindergarten through second grades, the district said in its Wednesday announcement.

On April 12, grades 3-8 will be able to return, as well as the U9 program at Berkeley High School, the Berkeley Technology Academy (a continuation school) and Berkeley Independent Study. High school grades 10-12 would return a week later on April 19.

However, all the return dates depend on vaccine availability and the schedule for distribution to educators. If the vaccination schedule is delayed, the reopening dates will be pushed back. If the city is able to provide all staff members with the Pfizer vaccine, which requires a shorter interval between shots, then those dates could also move up one week, according to the school district.

“It has never been more true than during this pandemic that it takes a village to provide for our children,” said school board President Ty Alper in a statement. “We are very grateful to our city partners for stepping up to secure vaccinations for our teachers and classified staff who have been anxiously awaiting their return to the classroom, where they can see and teach their students in person.”

The city has its own public health department, City of Berkeley Public Health, separate from Alameda County.

Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguín also said he supports having children return to in-person learning.

“Online learning has proven to be a major challenge for kids and parents alike,” Arreguín said in a statement. “We need to get Berkeley’s kids back into the classroom as quickly as possible, and this vaccination plan ensures that the safety of our educators will not be compromised in the process.”

The teachers union, Berkeley Federation of Teachers, and the district reached a tentative agreement on the school reopening timeline Tuesday night. Part of the agreement included the commitment to vaccinate all teachers and staffers.

“The CDC has recommended, though not required, vaccines for educators, and we recognize the value of vaccines as a strong, additional layer of protection for our staff. Vaccinations will lead to a more confident reopening and allow us to focus now on the final details of a hybrid learning schedule for our students,” read a joint statement by Superintendent Brent Stephens, teachers union President Matt Meyer and Alper.

There is a second pathway to reopen schools: If the community coronavirus transmission rate reaches the orange tier in the county, then Berkeley schools could reopen five days later, according to the district.

Although parents have not been asked to commit yet as to whether they would send their children back to school for in-person learning or remain with onlineonly instruction, the district did conduct a survey last week. It asked parents about two possible hybrid models, subject to bargaining with the teachers union.

In the first model, students would remain at home in distance learning until the afternoon, and then around 1 p.m. would return to the classroom either Monday and Tuesday or Thursday and Friday. All students would remain home Wednesday for distance learning. Of the responses from elementary school families, 63% said they would send their child to school with this model; 36% (or 679 responses) said they would keep their child at home for distance learning.

In the second model, students would return to the classroom for a full day of learning, from 9:15 a.m. to 2 p.m. but only on either Monday and Tuesday or Thursday

and Friday; Wednesdays would remain distance learning. A total of 75% said they would send their child to school with this model, and 24% (or 542 responses) said they would keep them at home.