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FRAMINGHAM – Last month, SOURCE published self-reported COVID vaccine numbers for the unions in the Framingham Public Schools.
At the end of August, 63% of Unit A (teachers), 39% of Unit C (custodians), and 13% of Unit N (food service workers) self-reported to the district they had received their COVID-19 vaccine.
As of September 20, all of those units saw an increase in COVID vaccinations, self reported still.
As of Monday, September 20, 80% of Unit A (teachers), 46% of Unit C (custodians), and 25% of Unit N (food service workers) self-reported to the district they had received their COVID-19 vaccine.
That means 8 out of every 10 teachers, half of the custodians, and 1 out of every 4 food service workers have told the district they are vaccinated.
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“While we are not mandating vaccines at this time, we have consulted with union leaders and are jointly encouraging all FPS staff to get vaccinated as soon as possible,” wrote Framingham Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources Inna London, in a memo to the 9 School Committee members.
“We understand that some employees cannot be vaccinated because of medical condition(s) or sincerely held religious belief(s),” noted London.
“However, If you are not vaccinated or if you failed to complete the vaccination attestation, you will need to submit to regular pool testing as directed by FPS (and subsequent testing should
the pool come back positive). Testing will be provided by FPS at each building. Feel free to
complete this consent form. Vaccinated staff are also strongly encouraged to participate in testing,” said Assistant Supt. London in the memo.
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Below is the % of employees by union unit below as of yesterday, September 21:
The district has requested employees self report their vaccinations.
Employees and substitutes are asked to upload “their vaccination status on TalentEd.”
The public school district asked all employees on September 8 to complete that task by September 20. Those who reported are included in the chart above.
“The Association continues to strongly encourage all eligible staff members to vaccinate and to attest to the district their vaccination,” said Framingham Teachers Association President Christine Mulroney.
“In unable to vaccinate or have not yet done so, we support those staff members participate in pooled testing regularly,” said Mulroney. “Regardless of vaccination status, we support the use of pooled testing as an important factor in minimizing any spread of COVID-19 in our school building.”
Last month, the Massachusetts Teachers Association’s Board of Directors voted 46-4 to require vaccinations or regular COVID-19 testing for those who are not vaccinated. The state’s teachers union said local unions should negotiate this with their school district.
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“The MTA is a union of 115,000 educators. Our number one priority is to return to safe, full in- person learning with our students, from preK through higher education. Since the beginning of the pandemic, we and our 400 affiliated locals have led the way on implementing the CDC- recommended COVID-19 mitigation strategies — including ventilation upgrades, masking, distancing, vaccination and regular testing — to protect the health and safety of students, educators and our communities. We are in unprecedented times,” wrote the state’s union.
“Vaccination is our strongest protection against COVID-19,” wrote the Massachusetts Teachers Association in August.
“Yet children under the age of 12 are not eligible for the vaccine, and the vaccination rate of eligible children between the ages of 12 and 18 is still too low to deter transmission. We take seriously our responsibility to protect our students, preK through higher education, our members and their families, and our communities. While research indicates that educators already have high rates of vaccination, the MTA supports required vaccination of all education workers and eligible students in our schools and colleges. We also support regular COVID-19 testing in lieu of vaccination for those not yet eligible or those for whom vaccination is not medically advisable.,” wrote the state union.
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