Children of first responders get child care
Certain schools open with safety protocols to accommodate needs of essential workers
Day 1 went as smoothly as probably could be expected as school districts across B.C. opened schools to the children of essential service workers.
Those workers, as defined by the provincial government during the pandemic and subject to change, include health workers, police officers, people who maintain critical infrastructure, all government workers, and those working in banks and grocery, liquor and cannabis stores.
For now, school districts are focusing on the children of health workers and first responders, or Tier 1. Parents need to fill out an application form with the provincial registry to have their children accepted.
The school district in North Vancouver has had more than 150 applicants, although not all of them are for children of workers deemed to be essential front-line health-care workers, which is the district’s current focus, the district’s communication manager said. For now, 20 children have been accommodated.
“The numbers continue to change and the situation is fluid,” Lisa Dalla Vecchia said.
There is a waiting list as the district targets the children of parents directly involved in patient care and front-line medical staff — nurses, respiratory therapists, ER doctors and the like — and first responders who are working in emergency care with people affected by COVID-19.
“For others deemed an essential service worker who may need child care, know that we are doing our best to accommodate the most urgent child-care needs first,”
Dalla Vecchia said.
Next, the district will focus on children of other workers such as those collecting garbage and maintaining infrastructure.
The Vancouver school district had about 130 students as of Monday from Tier 1 essential services workers, with no waiting list for its three schools, a representative said.
In Surrey, there is also still capacity. The district has set up two schools, each capable of handling 48 children. At the moment there are 30 altogether between the two sites, spokeswoman Ritinger Matthew said.
The district initially received 350 applications. “After following up with each of these applicants, less than half required child-care service in Surrey,” Matthew said. “Many respondents had made alternate arrangements with family or friends.”
The student-teacher ratio varies by district and age group, but of the seven districts contacted by Postmedia, the range went from 3:1 for kindergarten and Grade 1 children in Surrey up to 6:1 in some districts.
Classrooms must have a sink. Schools must follow health and safety protocol guidelines from Health Canada and the provincial medical health officer’s pandemic response team.
Many of the schools are open long enough to accommodate 12-hour shift workers, such as firefighters and police, but at least a couple are limited to eight hours.
It’s believed there are at least 17 schools open in Metro Vancouver. Because they are being opened and managed district by district, the Ministry of Education couldn’t confirm that number.
Delta has set up two schools and will open more depending on demand.
“We’ve had inquiries from approximately 54 families, many with more than one child,” communications manager Cathryn Tucker said. “We expect to receive more inquiries over the coming weeks.”
The district anticipates up to 12 students coming to its two schools; there is no waiting list.
In Richmond, the district has received about 200 applications.