ARIZONA BACK TO SCHOOL My Giang
It’s time for back to school in Arizona as the summer holiday comes to an end. After a long, virtual fight against the coronavirus, public schools are starting to open back up. Classes start in early August, but districts are struggling to get back into gear for this upcoming school year. Parents and students should expect smaller classes and physical distancing in classrooms. Masks are suggested but not required. Plus, staff should be keeping up with sanitation of health facilities. However, all this work requires a lot of man-power that isn’t immediately at hand. Since last year, Arizona public schools have been facing a teacher-shortage crisis. The pandemic had drained schools physically, emotionally, and financially. Now that the summer is coming to a quick end, Valley districts are rolling out incentives to urge teachers and staff members back to work. According to ABC News, districts, like Mesa Public Schools, Kyrene School District, and others, are using federal COVID relief funds to incentivize teachers to return. These incentives include $3,000 stipends and a 2% salary increase for the 2021-2022 school year.
The dashboard will show COVID-19 community transmission levels based on indicators calculated using one week of data. However, this newest academic year still serves as a challenge, not just for teachers but also for parents. Parents all around have been skeptical about
returning their kids in-person amidst the pandemic. Since Governor Doug Ducey’s Executive Order in March of this year, public schools have struggled to meet these demands. Although teachers are given vaccine-priority, it still doesn’t calm the thoughts of many worried parents. With this upcoming year, students and staff are not required to get the vaccine nor wear face masks inside or outside the classroom, which hasn’t been sitting well with many.
Teachers who oppose schools reopening protest at the Hillsborough County Public Schools district office on August 6, 2020 in Tampa, Florida. This district is not mentioned in this story. Octavio Jones/ Getty Images. ------------------------------------------------------
Some local officials warn that current conditions aren’t safe enough for schools to be returning in-person. Many teachers and officials demand for COVID vaccinations from all students and staff before classes start. This demand would be similar to other required vaccine shots, such as polio, tetanus, measlesmumps-rubella, chickenpox, and
12 and under; however, Pfizer has been working on trials for children of that age group. If you’re interested in registering for a vaccination, please visit the Arizona Department of Health Services’ Patient Portal at podvaccine.azdhs.gov or by calling 844-542-8201. Vaccines are also available at your local Walgreens, CVS, Fry’s Food Stores, Walmart, and Costco... In regards to the Asian American community, districts will start to see a reduced amount of Asian and AsianAmerican students returning to inperson learning. According to the
Hepatitis B. However, without full FDA approval, it will be difficult for any school district to enforce a COVID-vaccine mandate. Since May 13th, Arizona now offers Pfizer vaccines for children from ages 12-15. At the moment, the Arizona Department of Health Services is not offering vaccinations for children ages
Institute of Educational Sciences, as of February 2021, nearly 7 out of 10 Asian Americans K-12 students will continue learning virtually from home. This is the largest demographic of people learning remotely in comparison to other ethnic groups.
Governor Doug Ducey and the Executive Order.
34 | ISSUE 126 | JULY 2021 | VIET LIFESTYLES MAGAZINE
www.VietLifestyles.com | info@VietLifestyles.com
