Teachers have ‘a million questions’
Just a little more time is needed to plan a safe return to school.
That’s the message from Susan Bauhart, president of the Central Okanagan Teachers' Association.
About 43% of the students in School District 23 – about 9,000 – returned for classes in June. Come September, many more are expected in school hallways, bathrooms, and classrooms.
“Full attendance is going to present a myriad of challenges in terms of keeping the kids, teachers, and staff safe,” she said in an interview. “There is so much that will be different. Everyone is doing their best to make it as safe as possible.”
A short delay to the school start date comes after concerns were raised by the B.C. Teachers’ Federation and the B.C. Principals’ and Vice-Principals’ Association last week.
Students were scheduled to be back Sept. 8, but on Wednesday, the province announced that date would be slightly delayed – students are now to be back in classrooms by Sept. 10.
The province’s Stage 2 plan means schools will have their regular class sizes and will be organized into learning groups of 60 for kindergarten to Grade 8 and 120 for Grades 9 to 12.
Things that we’ve been told to avoid for so long – such as keeping your bubble small – seem not to apply to the return to school, said Bauhart.
“There are a million questions,” she said. “There is a tremendous amount of work going on right now with nothing finalized.”
She said teachers do want to be back in class, even if some parents think otherwise.
“September is critical,” she said. “Teachers want to be in front of their kids. September is when you develop the relationships with students, you build the trust, you build your classroom unit.”
Bauhart said she’s heard mixed responses from parents to the delay; however, “I’ve heard from more parents who are concerned about safety.”
New protocols will cost money. The province said it would add $45.6 million to the B.C. COVID-19 Action Plan to help school districts and independent schools get started on the school year. The funds are for such things as better access to hand hygiene, more cleaning staff and opportunities for remote learning.
Students will interact primarily with members of their 60- or 120-person learning groups while at school.
School administrators are currently looking at, or have started, changing the physical layout of classrooms and common areas to help students ensure social distancing is maintained, said the province.