MPS staff to get COVID-19 vaccine as district preps for return
MILWAUKEE - For a district that has been operating from a distance for months, hope for a chance to be face-to-face is on the horizon.
In a matter of days, hundreds of Milwaukee Public Schools students will step back into buildings. They've been at home, learning virtually, since March 2020.
Some staff were able to receive protection against COVID-19 ahead of that return to class.
"My main push is for them to obtain that education and be back in person so they can be ready for the future," said Tashanda Edelen, RN nursing coordinator with MPS.
Edelen is ready for the return and grateful to be part of Phase 1a -- one of the first people eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
"I want us to get back to some type of normalcy because our students are missing out on a lot. Education is always important this, is our next generation," Edelen said.
(Photo by Liam McBurney/PA Images via Getty Images)
For James Rimmer, a school float nurse with MPS, getting inoculated was also about reducing stigma in the inner city.
"For me, it was important because I have a lot of family and friends who say they don't trust getting get the shot," said Rimmer. "By me being in the medical feel, I feel this the first step in getting back to normalcy."
Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS)
As the shot helps protect those who receive it and others, MPS School Nurse Ebonie Durham feels it is a major deal along with other safety measures being taken as 300 students with special needs are set to return as early as Feb. 8.
"I just want to do what I can do to stop the spread," Durham said. "Just trying to get prepared and be ready for students when they get back in the building to make sure everyone is safe."
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Educators are set to be next in line for inoculations on March 1. The added line of defense may help students get the full academic experience and more.
"The school systems offer kids a lot -- offer food, a safe haven, people to talk to -- there are so many avenues that we offer to kids," said Rimmer. "It's important to get kids back into school, and that way most of the parents can get back to work so our economy can get better."
The school board is expected to make a final decision on the phased-in return for all students come March 1, when educators get in line for vaccines.
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