'It's not even doable': Preschools surprised by approval to restart
The approval to reopen Alberta’s preschools on Monday has left some educators scrambling to meet new health and safety guidelines on short notice, while others say those rules are impractical for teachers and students.
Children’s Services Minister Rebecca Schulz tweeted the news at 3:16 p.m. on Thursday, posting a link to guidelines developed by Alberta’s chief medical officer of health, Dr. Deena Hinshaw.
The announcement took operators, teachers and parents by surprise, according to Melody Brown Foster, president of the Southern Alberta Preschool Teachers Association.
While she said it’s encouraging to see preschools get the go-ahead, the majority won’t be able to accommodate the new rules in time for next week.
“No one was expecting one business day’s notice to be opening on Monday,” she said, adding many schools are having trouble sourcing sufficient supplies like hand sanitizer.
“It’s just not financially doable without any extra funding from the government that has not been provided.”
The next provincial town hall for child-care sector operators is scheduled for Tuesday, one day after preschools can begin reopening.
“Up until now, there’s been zero communication from our children’s ministry,” Brown Foster said.
“If programs do open up on Monday, a typical preschool wraps up the third week in June, so is it worth coming back for three weeks?”
According to the province’s guidelines, preschools may operate in cohorts of 10 people, including staff and children.
If one staff member must work with multiple classes, the person is required to wear a mask at all times. Cohorts can’t mix with other cohorts or be in the same room as another class simultaneously.
All shared sensory tables must be closed, including water tables, sand tables and shared play dough. Books and puzzles that can’t be fully disinfected should be off-limits, unless the items can be designated to a particular cohort.
Margaret Reid, who co-owns and directs Edelweiss Preparatory School with husband Walter, said those guidelines are too restrictive to sort out in time for next week.
She said children also require upwards of a whole month to adjust to new routines and protocols. With only a few weeks left before summer, she said it’s impractical to implement them on a short-term basis.
“It’s not even doable,” Reid said. “It just showed me a picture of the lack of consideration for children.”
According to Alberta’s relaunch
strategy unveiled last month, Kindergarten to Grade 12 schools would potentially open in Stage 2. As the province has targeted June 19 to advance from Stage 1, Reid said it was “shocking ” to hear preschools had been moved up in that schedule.
Schulz said that while preschools were initially included in Stage 2 of the relaunch, the government worked closely with Hinshaw to develop guidelines to accelerate the process.
“Working as quickly as possible, we informed preschools of this change the moment it was finalized,” Schulz said in an emailed statement.
Schulz noted that during a May 11 telephone town hall, she told child care sector operators the government was reviewing feedback on how preschools could reopen in a way similar to day camps and other child care centres.
“Preschools are neither obligated nor expected to reopen the moment the change is announced,” Schulz said. "We are merely sharing
welcome and important news that resulted from working closely with them.
“We know that these guidelines are very stringent and may be challenging but our hope is that, like many child care centres across the province, preschool operators choose to be innovative and to reopen to support families. That could include operating over the summer or as an outdoor preschool, giving parents a great option for part-time child care, in a place their child’s health, safety and early education are prioritized.”
But Brown Foster said preschools hadn’t been consulted on the plan. She said it makes more sense for preschools to reopen in September, when the next school year begins.
“It’s just mind-blowing that it would be released without consulting the ones that are going to be in trenches, so to speak,” she said.
“It’s not fair to anyone. It’s just, at the end of the day, really not worth it.”