All secondary schools of the CNMI Public School System with 70% of its eligible students vaccinated against COVID-19 will return to full in-person classes on Jan. 3, 2022.<\/p>\n
This was learned during a CNMI Board of Education meeting on Tuesday, with BOE chair Andrew L. Orsini and Education Commissioner Dr. Alfred B. Ada both assuring that PSS has the safety measures and protocols in place to ensure a safe return to full in-person classes.<\/p>\n
Early into the meeting, Orsini addressed the concerns some parents are having with sending their children back to school for full in-person classes. Orsini reiterated that community spread of COVID-19 did not originate in PSS schools and assured that PSS has safety protocols to maintain the safety of all students, whether or not they are vaccinated. <\/p>\n
\u201cAs chairman of this board, I want to reiterate to all the parents out there that, as far as having your child come to school\u2014whether vaccinated or not\u2014schools are the safest place right now in the entire Commonwealth,\u201d said Orsini. \u201cI can assure you that the virus itself in any way [was] not borne in the schools; it\u2019s coming from outside [into the schools]. Rest assured to everybody that the schools are complying with the protocols in place.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr. Yvonne R. Pangelinan, who is senior director of Student and Support Services for PSS, said that there will be several \u201clayers of protection\u201d in place to keep students safe come Jan. 3.<\/p>\n
On top of observing the \u201c3 W\u2019s\u201d (wash your hands, wear a face mask, watch your distance), PSS will also be promoting opportunities to get vaccinated through school-based vaccinations and conducting quarterly COVID-19 antigen testing. <\/p>\n
Additional measures include classroom modifications such as placing barriers, placing visual signs that indicate proper distances for social distancing, improving ventilation and installing UV filters on air conditioning units. Pangelinan added that schools will be restricting access to certain campus areas to minimize interactions between on-campus students and staff and campus visitors.<\/p>\n
Later into the meeting, Ada said he recently requested all PSS school principals to procure weekly cleanings for their campuses two to three times a week. Ada assured that PSS has ample funding to support sanitation requests.<\/p>\n
Ada said he empathizes with PSS\u2019 stakeholders who have been longing for a return to full in-person classes. For those who remain hesitant about going to class on Jan. 3, Ada said he and PSS aim to work with them to alleviate their concerns. <\/p>\n
\u201cI too really want to open schools [for full] face-to-face. Whatever you\u2019re feeling, I feel it, the teachers feel it, the students feel it, the whole community feels it. We do have a small portion of students and parents that don\u2019t want to [go to school come Jan. 3] because of fear of the pandemic, and we understand, and we\u2019re going to work with [them],\u201d he said. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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