By Chris Brown

Most staff fully vaccinated in Prairie Rose Public Schools

Feb 2, 2022 | 10:33 AM

DUNMORE, AB – Prairie Rose Public Schools is now enforcing its COVID vaccine policy for staff who work directly with students after the deadline to show proof of vaccination passed on Feb. 1.

According to Prairie Rose’s deputy superintendent, only about 10 per cent of staff have not shown proof of vaccination and are choosing to do rapid testing on a regular basis.

“They’ve all been given rapid tests so it’s nothing for them to have to go out and pay for or anything like that, it’s supplied. The government sent those down to us,” Mark Heinricks says. “And so they do it at home. we do it on the honour basis where we’re trusting them to take the test, the sign off a declaration that we’ve given them and then however they’ve decided with their principal to give them that declaration on Mondays and Thursdays then they provide that and we move forward.”

Heinricks says there are close to 40 individuals that have chosen the rapid testing route, a mixture of teachers, educational assistants and support staff.

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He says staff overall doing the best they can to find a way to make it work for their own personal needs as well as from a school system standpoint.

Heinricks says there have been some staff shortages in the division but staff who are there have been tremendously helpful.

“There’s definitely been many schools who can’t bring in subs but we’re not at the point where you know our programming is really getting detrimental because we can’t get bodies to fill,” he explains. “Having said that though, those staff that are in schools on days we can’t fill subs, they’re definitely filling in and doing extras over and above trying to keep things flowing smoothly so kudos on our staff for sure.”

He adds he hopes we are closing in on the end of the pandemic, noting everyone is tired.

“It doesn’t matter which side you’re on with this thing and where you fall. Everybody is tired and everybody wants to normalize and that’s our goal in the division to normalize as much as we can within the restrictions we still have to work with.”

by Chris Brown

Most staff fully vaccinated in Prairie Rose Public Schools

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