Educational Services Center 527 S. Franklin St. • Janesville, WI 53548 (608) 743-5000 • FAX (608) 743-7491 Superintendent/Public Information Offices

NEWS ADVISORY For Immediate Release: January 14, 2021 Contact: Patrick Gasper, Public Information Officer, School District of Janesville, 608-743-5091

No School on Friday, January 22, 2021 Last minute calendar change to accommodate COVID-19 vaccination of all SDJ Employees

JANESVILLE—The COVID-19 vaccine roll-out is progressing rapidly, and the Rock County

Public Health Department is allowing the region to move on to group 1-B of the vaccine

prioritization list. Group 1-B includes school district employees, due to their interaction with

students and families. Therefore, to expedite the vaccination process, MercyHealth has dedicated

Friday, January 22, 2021 as a day to provide COVID-19 vaccination to all School District of

Janesville (SDJ) employees.

“To make it possible to vaccinate more than 1,300 SDJ employees, the SDJ will not hold

school on Friday, January 22, 2021,” said Steve Pophal, Superintendent. “We learned today of

this opportunity to vaccinate all employees, and we want to give families as much lead time as

possible to make arrangements for childcare coverage. We are very grateful to MercyHealth for

making this a possibility.”

As there will be no school for students on Friday, January 22, 2021, teachers will send

students home on Thursday, January 21, 2021 with age-appropriate lessons/tasks that they may

complete over the long weekend.

To be effective, the COVID-19 vaccine requires two doses spaced several weeks apart.

Therefore, MercyHealth has also dedicated Friday, February 12, 2021 as the SDJ vaccination day

for the second dose. Plans are still in development for how the district will address school for

students on that day.

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Mission: To serve our community by educating every child. Page 1 of 2

Web address: www.janesville.k12.wi.us Page 2 – No School on January 22, 2021

The School District of Janesville appreciates the patience and flexibility families and the community have shown throughout the COVID-19 public health emergency. We understand that accommodating a short notice calendar change can be difficult. The vaccination of SDJ employees, however, will go a long way in our ability to keep our students and school safe as we navigate this COVID-19 pandemic.

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