MATTHEWS, N.C. — One private school in the Charlotte area will soon require all employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
A letter sent to parents from the Socrates Academy in Matthews confirms the new requirement. The Socrates Academy Board of Directors publicly voted Monday to require full vaccination by Nov. 25.
The letter from the academy says they've implemented vaccine clinics for staff and students who meet the requirements, require weekly testing for both employees and athletes; and offered COVID-19 testing to all students. However, the spread of the delta variant has prompted academy leaders to require the vaccine of its staff.
Religious and medical exemptions will be allowed, and employees can attend an on-campus educational session with a doctor specializing in infectious diseases. If an employee doesn't comply with the requirement, the academy says employees will need to provide notice by Oct. 22.
The full letter follows:
The Socrates Academy Board of Directors announced on September 8th that it will require all employees to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 by November 23, 2021. This decision was approved Wednesday evening in a unanimous vote by the Academy’s Board of Directors, who took careful consideration of the implications the decision could have on faculty, staff and students.
From the beginning, we have taken a position that we need to follow science. There is clear evidence showing that COVID-19 vaccines are safe and, combined with other safety measures such as masking, are the most powerful measures we have against the pandemic. We agree with national teacher groups that such measures are appropriate, responsible, and necessary to ensure the safety of our school community and to protect our students.
The Academy has implemented extensive mitigation strategies to prevent the spread of the virus, including scheduling vaccine clinics for staff and students who meet the requirements, requiring weekly COVID testing for employees and athletes, and offering COVID testing to all scholars.
While we’ve hoped that we could attain an improved level of health and safety for all without having to require the vaccine, this new Delta variant, and those that may follow, are simply proving to be too much of a risk for our school community. Requiring vaccination of all employees is an additional precaution to continue to prevent the spread of illness and protect our school community.
Employees may apply for medical or religious exemption and will have the opportunity to attend an educational session on campus with a doctor specializing in infectious diseases to answer any questions or concerns they may have around the vaccine.
We respect that this can be an extremely difficult decision for many and we continue to provide all members of the Socrates family with the information and support that they need to navigate this pandemic.
The board of directors met on Sept. 13, hearing from some parents, teachers, and other concerned parties who pleaded against the mandate.