Quaker Valley School District to hold vaccination clinic

Upcoming vaccination clinics and an overview of the Health and Safety report were one of several items addressed at the Quaker Valley School District annual reorganization meeting on Dec. 7.

District assistant superintendent Dr. Andrew Surloff said they hope to have a vaccination clinic provided through UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh within the next two weeks, and parents should have been contacted with a questionnaire prior to the event. The clinic is completely voluntary and will be made available to students ages 5 to 11, as well as eligible students and staff seeking booster shots.

The questionnaire was being sent to simply gauge how many families are interested and the ages of those wanting vaccinations so that enough pediatric shots are adequately prepared, Surloff said.

The clinic is not mandated, but the district is “doing it as a service to the community,” calling it another important mitigation effort.

Surloff added the on-site rapid testing program at the district is “going very well,” with a good number of students and staff taking advantage of the testing opportunity.

The in-house rapid covid testing in all four school buildings was implemented on Nov. 3, according to school board member Geoff Barnes, who is the committee representative for health and safety.

As far as the health and safety plan after winter break, Surloff has no answer yet.

“We don’t know what is in front of us as we move through the holiday season,” he said.

The priority in August was to safely keep students in school and learning, he said. They will continue to look for more mitigation efforts like the upcoming vaccination clinic. But, Barnes acknowledged that while they focused in the recent months on “ratcheting up” mitigation efforts, there will be a time when they will look to start “ratcheting down” these same efforts as the pandemic hopefully lessens.

The goal is always to remain in school to the fullest, but safest, extent as possible, he said.

He also relayed the high school graduation date has been moved from its tentative June 9 up to June 6. The three extra days will give them the cushion for any delays due to inclement weather, as the ceremonies will be held outdoors at the high school stadium.

“We want to make sure everyone is there, together, in-person,” he said.

Barnes also provided a 2021 year-end report on the health and safety committee, commenting it was a year full of constant conversations and meetings and almost daily phone calls on the subject.

“I’m so proud of what this district and committee have done as we navigated the pandemic,” Barnes said.