Teachers getting 2-day head start
Summer break was extended 48 hours Wednesday by the B.C. Education Ministry in response to concerns from teachers and school administrators.
Kids aren’t expected back in class until Sept. 10 now. News of the delay was welcomed by the president of the Okanagan Skaha Teachers’ Union, who still doesn’t think it gives members enough time to look after the “massive” amount of stuff the ministry has asked of school staff.
“They expect a huge litany of cleaning and disinfection. They want teachers to figure out how to distance the kids — that’s pretty complex, as you can imagine — and it appears in a lot of cases we’re going to have redo kids’ timetables,” said Kevin Epp.
“Those are things that could take months to complete.”
Epp noted the ministry is still working with staff groups and he’s hopeful government will act on the lingering concerns.
The Education Ministry announced in late July students and teachers would all return to class in “learning groups” on Sept. 8, leaving instructors with little time to adjust their plans and learn about all the new health precautions related to COVID-19.
That prompted the B.C. Teachers’ Federation and B.C. Principals’ and Vice-Principals’ Association to go public with their concerns and push for a more flexible return plan. Those concerns were answered with Wednesday’s announcement.
“Having the restart week staged in some kind of manner that would have staff teams together for a couple days before we gradually welcome kids back to make sure that every school — all 1,500 of them in the province — are truly ready to welcome students is a good idea, and that’s the approach that we’ll be taking,” Education Minister Rob Fleming told reporters.
Learning groups will range in size from 60 kids in elementary schools to 120 in secondary schools. Each group will keep to itself during breaks and classes, all in a bid to help stop the spread of COVID-19.
The delay to the start of the school year was announced two days after the BCTF released the results of a survey that showed members were deeply concerned about going back to work.
Just 51% of teachers reported they felt safe when they returned to school in June to finish off the year, and only 46% felt they’d received sufficient support.
Two-thirds of teachers said their workloads had increased as a result of the pandemic, and one-third felt unsure about whether they even wanted to return to school.
The survey was conducted online June 8-26. Results were based on 13,923 completed responses, representing about one-third of all B.C. teachers.
Epp estimated about half of teachers in the Okanagan Skaha School District still have reservations about returning to their classrooms
“There are still more questions than answers,” he said.
- With files from Victoria Times-Colonist