The greater good

In short, staff should be required to get vaccinated. A teacher’s job is to provide for their students, creating a healthy and safe environment that all students feel welcome in. if staff are not vaccinated, then they’re failing to accomplish that.

They interact the most with youth–a majority of which are too young to even receive the vaccine. Specifically, in elementary schools with the most at-risk students, teachers and staff are expected to make the institution as safe as possible for them.

Beyond that, there are the unseen and unknown risks of the immunocompromised to consider. Even if a class full of students are all healthy, there is no guarantee that the family they return home to is as well. Unvaccinated staff working puts more than just students at risk. 

Ultimately, school staff are more influential than they think. They can keep classes safer by doing their part, but they can also set an example for students to get the vaccine and keep others safe as well. It’s all a matter of putting the greater good above one’s personal feelings.