Beginning March 15th, the first date allowable per State guidelines, Jersey City will dedicate the full allotment of vaccines directly to the 4,700 teachers and staff within the Jersey City Public School System — in an effort to safely return the nearly 30,000 students to full-time, in-person learning. This comes directly from a press release from Mayor Fulop’s office.
The school vaccination program allows for classrooms citywide to reopen in-person learning beginning April 22, 2021. Social distancing and all other COVID-19 protocols will also be strictly followed throughout all school buildings.
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“We’ve been waiting for restrictions to be lifted so that we can inoculate teachers and meet the community’s call to get students back to in-person learning as quickly as possible, and now that we’ve reached that point, we’re prepared to dedicate the necessary resources to safely and swiftly reopen classrooms,” said Mayor Fulop. “Now that we are finally starting to get more doses, we can vaccinate more people, and we can expand our impact in order to help families and ultimately the broader community get back on their feet as fast as possible.”
“Mayor Fulop reinforced his commitment to the Jersey City Public Schools’ safe reopening with his plan to dedicate thousands of vaccines to the teachers and support staff,” said Franklin Walker, Superintendent of Schools. “Jersey City Public School employees will receive their vaccine at James J. Ferris High School and the Patricia Noonan Public School #26 starting the week of March 15, 2021. The vaccinations will provide confidence, an additional level of support, and safety for our entire school community.”
It’s worth it to note that the Jersey City school district has been remote for the entire 2020-2021 school year, similar to the Montclair Public Schools.
Throughout the pandemic, the administration has focused on COVID-19 testing, individual contact tracing, and support for families with access to City Health Officers and the Covid Crisis Manager. The City will continue to work with the BOE to register educators and school staff from the 42 schools within the district. Every employee within the Jersey City Public Schools will receive a form to fill out if they chose to get vaccinated, which will then be coordinated with the school district’s nurse.
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Jersey City is also expanding the offer to include local charter schools and daycare facilities. Two of the City’s vaccine sites located in Ferris High School and PS 26 will be allocated to those who opt in to the school vaccine program. Appointments are required to enter.
