Commencement Canceled, Booster Shots Mandated: Covid Hits Schools
The University of Maryland has had to cancel its winter commencement after over 100 covid cases hit its campus. Meanwhile, Emory University and Stanford University are mandating booster shots as omicron looms. Other covid news in education is also reported.
The Hill:
University Of Maryland Cancels Winter Commencement Amid Surge In COVID-19 Cases
The University of Maryland has canceled its winter commencement after recording over 100 new positive COVID-19 cases on campus. "With a heavy heart, we are canceling all winter commencement activities," the school said on Thursday. "This decision was not made lightly. We know how important this time is for our winter graduates and their families, but our first responsibility must continue to be the health and well-being of our community." (Beals, 12/16)
In other higher-education news —
Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Emory University In Atlanta Mandates COVID Booster Shots For Students
Emory University announced Thursday that it will require all employees, faculty and students to get a COVID-19 booster shot within the next month. Emory, the state’s largest private university, has become one of the biggest schools in Georgia to order booster shots. It has more than 32,000 employees and about 15,000 students. President Gregory Fenves said in a letter the university is requiring the shots because of the increased spread of COVID-19 nationwide and the emerging omicron variant. (Stirgus, 12/16)
San Francisco Chronicle:
As Omicron Looms, Stanford Requires Boosters For Students, Moves Classes Online In Early January
Stanford University is moving classes online for the first two weeks of the winter quarter and requiring all eligible students to get a booster shot by the end of January, according to an email sent to the campus community Thursday. Stanford officials said online classes will start Jan. 3 and in-person instruction will resume Jan. 18, after the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. Students can still return to campus as planned, even though they will be learning online initially. Parties and similar gatherings are banned during the first two weeks of the winter quarter. (Morris, 12/16)
Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Morehouse School Of Medicine Delays $6,300 COVID Grants To Students
Morehouse School of Medicine administrators say the $6,300 grants it would give students this week will be delayed as federal education department officials review the plans. The school’s president, Dr. Valerie Montgomery Rice, announced the delay in a letter Tuesday to students. The letter also says some students, such as those who don’t have children and aren’t caregivers for their own parents, may receive $4,800 instead of $6,300. The 754-student school, located near downtown Atlanta, said earlier this month it planned to provide grants from federal coronavirus aid to help students with ongoing pandemic costs such as child care, health care, housing and transportation. (Stirgus, 12/15)
In updates about K-12 schools —
The Daily Beast:
Missouri, D.C,, Maryland, New York City Schools Close Early Over Coronavirus As Omicron Surges
As states scramble to contain a fresh surge of COVID-19 cases that may only worsen with the holiday season and the emergence of the Omicron variant, schools are once again shutting their doors to curtail the spread of the deadly disease. In Maryland, at least three schools announced they were closing their doors early after reporting a COVID-19 outbreak, while several schools in the District of Columbia area have also moved to online learning to contain an ongoing outbreak. A few states away, in New York City, the Department of Education has shuttered over 800 classrooms amid a mass surge of COVID-19 cases in the area. (Melendez, 12/16)
Detroit Free Press:
Detroit Schools Approve COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate For Staff Members
All Detroit school teachers and staff members must be fully vaccinated by Feb. 18 under a new mandate approved by the district's school board on Thursday. Detroit Public Schools Community District officials said the mandate will impact a very small percentage of staff members who have yet to be vaccinated. The new requirement will require employees in the largest district in the state to receive the vaccine and report their status to the district by Feb. 18. (Altavena, 12/16)
New Orleans Times-Picayune:
New Orleans Expands Indoor And School Vaccine Mandate To Children Ages 5 And Up, A First In The U.S.
In response to increasing COVID-19 cases and the rise of a more infectious variant as the holidays and Carnival approach, Mayor LaToya Cantrell expanded New Orleans' indoor vaccine or negative test requirement Thursday to children ages 5 to 11 and the New Orleans public school system mandated vaccination for students age 5 and older. The indoor mandate will go into effect Jan. 3, when children will be required to show proof of at least one vaccine dose. On Feb. 1, four weeks before Mardi Gras, the requirement will be two doses. The school requirement goes into effect Feb. 1, Superintendent Henderson Lewis Jr. said. (Woodruff, 12/16)
