St. Peter’s School has announced it will cancel classes (remote and in-person) on Friday, Feb. 19, so that faculty and staff could receive their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

In a letter to parents on Thursday, the administration decided to cancel classes after learning that teachers and staff will have to report to a centralized vaccine clinic to receive their shot. Also, nearly 90% of the school’s faculty and staff have indicated that they are willing to receive the shot.

“Our faculty and staff continue to go above and beyond for our students in this challenging school year,” said Pastor & Local Superintendent Father Gregory Hite. “We are grateful that most of our staff want the peace of mind that a vaccine will provide and allow them to continue to focus on our students for the rest of the school year.”

St. Peter’s School’s said its commitment has been to provide a safe and healthy learning environment for students – either in-person or remote.

“Our Restart Smart COVID-19 plan provided that safe environment, and we have had no known instances of COVID-19 transmissions in the classroom environment,” the school said in a press release.

St. Peter’s School said in the letter to parents that it would continue its commitment to providing in-person instruction for the remainder of the school year.

“The vaccine will give our staff a considerable confidence boost,” said elementary principal Ashley Rastorfer. “It will allow us to enable more personalized instruction, especially students who need that extra attention.”