San Antonio Students Get The Day Off So Teachers Can Get Their Shots

The San Antonio Independent School District is giving students the day off so teachers have time to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

Monday, April 12, will officially be a school holiday. Parents of SAISD students received a phone call saying "The calendar was approved by trustees to allow 3,000 campus-based staff members to receive their second vaccination doses," KENS 5 reported.

Students will not be required to make that day up before the end of the school year, the district said.

The district decided to give students the day off as it ramps up efforts to get more kids back into the classroom.

SAISD officials want 24,000 students, about 50% of the district's population, to return to their physical classrooms. The goal is get 70% - 80% of students back to in-person learning before the school year is over, The San Antonio Express News reported.

Having more teachers and school staff vaccinated could encourage more families to send their kids back to the physical classrooms.

“We need to reduce anxiety. And really the anxiety is at three levels; it’s our families, it’s our children and it’s our staff. If I can get my staff fully vaccinated by mid-April, I reduce the anxiety of my staff. By showing families that cases have been low and we are having COVID testing every single week, again, I’m reducing the anxiety of both my students and my parents," SAISD Superintendent Pedro Martinez said.

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