Reasons for optimism in education months after low of COVID closures
COVID-19 landed its first major blow to education in Alberta at a news conference on Sunday, March 15, that included Premier Jason Kenney and Dr. Deena Hinshaw, the province's chief medical officer of health.
The province had 56 cases and now the government was closing all schools in an effort to slow the pandemic's spread.
“That was the low point in the pandemic for sure,” said Trisha Estabrooks, chair of the Edmonton Public School Board, noting a sense of grief that March day.
“So when I think back to nine months ago, and you fast-forward to today, I do feel like we have come together as a division. And I feel that that sense of grieving has been replaced by a sense of hope and optimism going forward.”
THE MUTATING
COVID- 19 ` CLASSROOM'
In 2020 learning looked different. By September students learned in class or online, sometimes having to leave the classroom and self-isolate if someone around them got sick.
Teachers were asked to make sure everyone followed public health guidelines. Eventually the province's contact tracing was so broken that it was often left to principals to inform families if someone in a class tested positive.
In November, case numbers tripled from the beginning of the month to the end of the month and Grades 7 to 12 returned to online learning only until at least January.
At a news conference last Wednesday, Hinshaw said after the rules put in place in November, which included restrictions on team sports, performances and social gatherings, case rates plateaued and then fell across all school-aged groups.
“The similar trend in all three ages groups supports the other evidence that we have seen suggesting that the school model in place is protective against in-school transmission,” she said.
“Instead it seems that it is mainly all the other in-person activities that children undertake that are exposing them to the virus and helping to spread COVID-19.”
FOCUS ON MENTAL HEALTH
Now, with 2021 on the horizon, officials with both of Edmonton's major school divisions are preparing for a new year with potential learning gaps and more focus on students' mental health.
In a survey of nearly 1,600 teachers and school administrators released in mid-december, the Alberta Teachers' Association found that 73 per cent of teachers were moderately to extremely concerned about their students' mental health.
Tim Cusack, deputy superintendent for the Edmonton Catholic Schools, said the pandemic has kept students away from their friends.
“They miss that social interaction,” Cusack said. “And so, in a way, there's a bit of a grieving process that happens.”
Like Cusack, Estabrooks said students' mental health will be a concern next year.
“We know that more resources will be needed, post-pandemic,” she said. “I don't know if we have enough distance or enough perspective on this pandemic yet to truly get a handle on how this pandemic is affecting our children's mental health and families' mental health.”
In 2020 Edmonton Catholic hired four teachers to act as “coaches” so staff have somewhere to turn to find resources for themselves or their students.
Cusack said staff are also trained how to talk to students struggling during the pandemic. “( We want) to let people know that … there's somebody here to listen, to respond, to be helpful,” he said.
Edmonton Public set up nine specialized teams to provide direct services to students across the division. Those teams include mental health support, psychologists and social workers.
“I do see it as a success story, because it's responsive to … what schools and the students need,” Estabrooks said.
LEARNING AMID FUNDING CHANGES
Cuts and changes in the way schools are funded hit some urban school divisions particularly hard in 2020. Both Edmonton Public and Catholic estimate they are getting six per cent less per student than in 2018.
Whether schools need additional funding for mental health support is “a conversation we need to have with the minister of education,” Estabrooks said.
Education Minister Adriana Lagrange declined interview requests for this story.
In an email, her press secretary Michael Forian wouldn't discuss details of the next budget, but said the government has put money toward mental health since early in the pandemic, including dollars for the Kids Help Phone and online supports for youths.
` HOPEFUL' FOR FALL 2021
But Estabrooks and Cusack are both hopeful about the new year.
“We're going to return to learning in the fall, renewed, hopeful and invigorated and celebrating that we were able to navigate this together with as much success as can be expected,” Cusack said.
“I think we have to look with hope to the future. Otherwise, COVID wins, and we don't want COVID to win.”