Bolder school safety measures needed
Faced with flawed provincial plan, school boards should show backbone, say Caralee Salomon and Stacey Knecht.
Like so many teachers and parents, we, parents of students at Westpark Elementary School within the Lester B. Pearson School Board, are disappointed with the (lack of ) back-to-school protocols recently announced by the Minister of Education and our own school board.
Last Friday, our school board briefly publicized on its website a directive that would have exceeded the government’s guidelines by requiring all students to wear masks in school. However, after a rebuke by the education minister, the board did a quick about-face.
Now is the time for our board, one of the English school boards on the brink of extinction, to show decisive leadership in the face of a government intent on shutting it down. But instead of boldness, retreat.
We, as stakeholders, have no faith in the adequacy of the back-to-school plan. We call for the following elements to be incorporated into a revised and expanded set of guidelines before the start of school.
Do these exceed government guidelines? Yes. As the old saying goes, better to beg for forgiveness than to ask for permission. These are our requirements:
Masks and temperature checks: All students and teachers should wear masks and/or face shields indoors at all times. This is the best way to guard against the spread of the virus through airborne transmission. Mandatory temperature checks should be completed by staff, and parents or students every morning before coming to school. Fever? Stay home. Maximize outdoor time: As much as possible, students should be moved outside. Existing tree cover or canvas canopies can provide shade, and heaters can be used. To be sure, this response requires full community engagement. Schools should co-ordinate clothing drives for children in need of warm clothes. Parks, municipal buildings, church grounds and even nearby streets should be leveraged where schools lack space.
This is how schools functioned during outbreaks of disease 100 years ago, even in climates similar to ours, with success in limiting the spread of infection. Any argument that this is too difficult, too expensive, too impractical or too uncomfortable is hollow. Let’s stop looking for obstacles and instead look for solutions.
Improving ventilation: HEPA filters should be used in poorly ventilated indoor spaces to limit airborne transmission of the virus. Home and school associations and the Pearson Education Fund can fundraise for these units. At a minimum, all school staff must commit to keeping windows and classroom doors open always and irrespective of weather to maximize air flow. Heaters will be needed on colder days. Where there are no windows (for example, the washrooms at our school), HEPA filters should be used at those sites. Separately, our schools need a firm commitment with a timeline from the board and the government that HVAC systems will be upgraded.
Hand sanitizing stations: Hand sanitizer dispensers should be installed at every entrance door and students must wash their hands at regular intervals throughout the day. Touchless solutions, like automatic sinks and toilet flushers, should be installed during building upgrades. Online learning: In the current context, all children should have the option to follow live-streamed classes along with their assigned homeroom, and we strongly support those parents seeking this right before the courts. Our board must implement the technology required and support those families electing this option.
None of this is foolproof. Even with very robust protocols, infections will occur. But this is about keeping community transmission low and slow. We want to keep kids learning, teachers teaching, parents working, hospitals functioning and the economy churning.
Finally, we are ready to put our time and money where our mouths are to support the board and our principal in implementing these solutions. We expect our board to do its part, too.
Caralee Salomon and Stacey Knecht are parents at Westpark Elementary School in Dollarddes-ormeaux. This oped is co-signed by fellow Westpark parents Kelly Arfin-gurevitch, Dvorah Bowen, Ken Mandel, Steven Small and Michelle Sternzus.