BACK TO SCHOOL
Many questions remain with final back-to-school plan due by Aug. 1
Return to classes planned in fall
Students across Alberta can expect a normal return to classes in September, with a final decision on safety protocols expected by Aug. 1.
As the UCP government launches its second stage of reopening this week, Education Minister Adriana Lagrange confirmed Wednesday that while the province is still considering different back-to-school scenarios, she expects kids will be in classrooms.
“I hope parents and students can take comfort in the extremely likely possibility of a return to their local schools in September,” Lagrange said.
“While things won’t be exactly as they were before the pandemic, students will be back in an environment they know.”
Lagrange said a normal return to school is most likely, in which physical distancing would only be required when possible, and cleaning protocols would be increased, including regular handwashing and sanitizing, and extra cleaning of classrooms and school buses.
Students who are not feeling well will be asked to stay home, and family members who feel ill will be asked to not enter schools to visit or pick up students.
Stricter rules such as physical distancing, Lagrange said, will only be mandatory in a less-likely second scenario if COVID -19 cases rise in the community.
Students in classrooms will then be separated by at least two metres, not allowing for more than 14 students and one teacher per room.
Individual school districts will then be expected to organize modified calendars and staggered entry systems to ensure only some students attend some of the time.
Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta’s chief medical officer of health, said that while risk will always exist in any return-to-school scenario, it’s important to balance that with the risk of continuing to learn from home.
“We know there are consequences to having children not able to be in school. And we know there are risks to broader society in continuing with a universal distance-education model.
“So we have to balance those risks with risks of bringing kids back.”
Earlier this week, the Alberta Teachers’ Association released the results of a teacher survey that showed online learning has had a significant physical and mental-health toll on teachers.
Teachers also said many students, particularly those with special needs, are struggling and not able to get the supports they need.
But at the same time, teachers and staff raised concerns about how safe a back-to-school environment will be.
Hinshaw said that while kids are in schools, students and staff will be screened regularly. AHS will also be watching the number of active cases in communities, including hospitalizations and ICU admissions, to see where spread happens.
“We will also watch other places around the world where schools have opened and what practices make schools as safe as possible,” Hinshaw said. “That will inform us on whether we need to take any different approaches.”
Still, Lagrange would not specify whether the province is willing to spend additional dollars on safety protocols such as increased cleaning of schools and buses, or hiring medical staff such as school nurses to monitor COVID-19 symptoms in students and staff.
Since the UCP introduced its budget in the spring, school boards across the province have raised concerns about funding shortfalls that have resulted in larger class sizes and less support staff in schools.
The Calgary Board of Education is looking to make up a $48-million funding gap for next year, with officials estimating class sizes will go up by at least two students across the board.
Parents with the advocacy group Support Our Students are concerned school boards won’t be able to find funds to implement protocols such as increased handwashing and sanitizing, deep cleans of buildings and routine screening of staff and students.
SOS argued too many questions went unanswered Wednesday, including what the circumstances would be under which a school would close as a result of an outbreak, what constitutes an outbreak, and what type of learning will be in place during an outbreak.
The minister suggested many of those detailed decisions would be left up to local districts under the guise of school board autonomy.
“It’s almost as though Minister Lagrange, by way of lack of leadership, wants public school boards to fail,” said Carolyn Blasetti, executive director of SOS Alberta.
“It’s a familiar strategy to exploit crises as a means to privatize education.”
Barb Silva, SOS spokeswoman, added that while the minister did speak to the needed emphasis on handwashing and cleaning, she made no mention of increased funding.
“In fact, the minister indicates an expectation that school boards have within their budgets the funding and the autonomy to deal with these modifications. This is code for no new funding.”