FORT SMITH -- With the ongoing distribution of covid-19 vaccines across the state, the School District has continued working to accommodate its staff and students amidst the pandemic.
Deputy Superintendent Martin Mahan provided the School Board with a covid-19 vaccine update during the board's meeting Monday. The district partnered with a local hospital to provide 400 Pfizer covid-19 vaccines to district staff at the Ben Geren Park Tornado Shelter on Friday.
Superintendent Terry Morawski said he was pleased with this vaccine clinic, which he called "very well-run."
"That represents [about] 20% of our total population that we want to vaccinate," Morawski said. "So we're still hoping more doses come our way from the state and we're still working towards that, working with our local pharmacies and local health organizations to bring those for our staff."
The district, Mahan said, regularly meets to talk about the guidelines the Arkansas Department of Health communicates through its most recent covid-19 vaccine plan, as well as leadership meetings to plan for available vaccines. It has also been communicating with district staff regarding the most up-to-date information concerning vaccine access through local pharmacies.
"We do attend weekly meetings with some of our county and city officials to stay in the loop on the communication, and we also have ongoing discussions with pharmacies and hospitals about what possibly might be accessible in the future as far as vaccines are concerned," Mahan said.
Mahan also presented the board with information concerning two digital option days the School District held earlier this month.
The district announced Jan. 13 in-person attendance would be optional for its K-12 students Jan. 15 and 19, citing challenges of covering for absent teachers and school support staff members due to the pandemic. Students who regularly attended school in-person could either go to school or work remotely on those two days, with students being able to access their work on their learning management system.
"As you all know, we've had some struggles with staffing due to quarantine numbers of our staff," Mahan said.
Mahan said the model the School District employed on those days was adopted based on the work other districts in the state had done. The Arkansas Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, as well as the Health Department, provided guidance.
Across all of the district's elementary and secondary schools, Mahan said 2,634 students used the on-site online learning option on Jan. 15 while 2,220 students used it Jan. 19. This is against a total current enrollment of 13,688 at the schools.
Thomas Saccente can be reached by email at tsaccente@nwadg.com.