After careful consideration, after consulting with health experts, it is clear that we cannot open schools at this time. I’m just not going to risk it.
Summer day camps still a possibility if COVID-19 is contained, Ford says
Premier Doug Ford, announcing that classes will not resume this school year.
Schools will remain closed until the end of June for Ontario’s two million students, and all summer overnight camps are cancelled.
But after two months of lockdown at home already, Premier Doug Ford offered a glimmer of hope to Ontario’s cooped-up kids, announcing that day camps in July and August could go ahead if efforts to contain COVID-19 remain on the right track.
“After careful consideration, after consulting with health experts, it is clear that we cannot open schools at this time — I’m just not going to risk it,” Ford said Tuesday at Queen’s Park, meaning students will be learning online from home until the end of the school year.
“This wasn’t an easy decision to make, but it was the right decision,” added the premier. “We made the decision to put our kids’ safety first and, at the same time, we have a plan to ensure that education can continue outside the classroom.”
The government is still talking to boards and employee groups about how to safely resume classes in the fall and summer school options will be increased, with Education Minister Stephen Lecce saying some in-class summer courses could be offered if local situations allow.
Summer day camps, if local health officials approve, will have “strict public health measures in place,” Ford said.
“We hope this gives kids and parents something to look forward to this summer.”
But come September, Lecce said “we will have to reimagine education in some respects,” adding that measures such as social distancing among students, smaller classes or parttime attendance are all on the table.
“I want parents to know that we will be introducing new protocols, new standards, to ensure students can return to class safely,” he said. “We will announce that plan for the September reopening before the end of this school year” and after seeking the advice of health officials and experts Sick Kids hospital.
When asked why he didn’t allow boards in areas with low or no COVID-19 cases to reopen in June, Ford said, “I’m just not going to chance it when it comes to our kids … why chance if for a few weeks? It’s just not worth it.”
By cancelling all in-person classes for the remainder of the school year, Ontario joins provinces like Alberta. Others, like Quebec, are allowing some children to return on a voluntary basis and in B.C. kids can go back part-time starting June 1, with strict rules in place.
Other countries have also slowly resumed classes — although a week after reopening, France has just reported an outbreak of school-related coronavirus cases.
The Ontario Public School Boards’ Association said “we appreciate the government taking a measured and cautious approach to the return to inclass instruction that is guided by the advice of health officials, with input from school boards, educators, and staff.” President Cathy Abraham said that “as we move through June and into the summer, we will continue to work with the government to facilitate a return to school in September. In all likelihood, the school experience will be different from what we are used to, and I know that school board staff will endeavour to make the return as safe and positive as possible.”
Public boards in Toronto, Peel York and Halton say they have no plans as yet for in-class summer school.
Lecce also renewed calls for real-time video conferencing as students continue to learn at home until the end of June, an issue that has raised the ire of teacher unions that have instead urged members not to use it over accessibility, security and privacy concerns.
The education minister also announced Tuesday that daycares will remain closed for the time being, except for those serving the children of frontline workers.
Ontario NDP education critic Mari t Stiles agreed that “schools should remain closed until it’s absolutely safe for kids to return … But parents are now being called back to work while schools and child-care centres remain closed. That’s a major gap that will leave households all over the province with no options for child care, and the government needs to step up with a plan and tangible supports for those parents.”