Promising steps toward safe school reopening

Amid all the disagreement about the best ways to reopen all Ontario schools, particularly in COVID-19 hot spots, there is one thing nearly everyone agrees on: We need to get schools open sooner rather than later, and it needs to be done safely.

On Monday the provincial government took a few more steps down that road announcing improvements in school testing capacity as well as new investment — courtesy of the federal, not provincial, government — in school safety measures, development of online and summer learning protocols and mental health supports.

Recently, Ottawa released another $381 million as part of the Federal Safe Return to Class fund. That is in addition to $381 million previously released in August. Most significantly, that will fund expanded school testing programs along with more PPE and other measures.

While these steps are welcome, they come ominously late given there are just 10 days left before the last wave of schools reopens in places like Toronto, Hamilton, Peel and York regions. More than half a million kids are already back in school in other regions. But prior to that, schools were closed for weeks and it is fair to ask what took the government so long. (It is also notable that the education minister on Monday could not confirm the planned reopening date for hot spot regions is still Feb. 10, saying it depends on the state of COVID-19 at that point. So it’s not a done deal.)

Ontario has been sitting on millions of rapid testing kits as expert after expert has argued for them being brought to bear to help detect and trace virus cases in schools. These are the non-pcr tests which are not as accurate as PCR but better than nothing which is what schools had prior to the most recent lockdown. Now, finally, the government is moving to do that.

Another significant aspect of Monday’s announcement is that the province is giving school boards the ability to tap into senior teacher’s college students to fill in supply teaching roles. They have to be doing well in their post-secondary teacher education and must complete their training by Dec. 21, 2021. Last fall the province said boards could bring in retired teachers and principals in order to reduce average class size. The new temporary change in the teacher certification regime will be worthwhile if it allows class sizes to be reduced further which should improve classroom safety for students and educators alike.

In recent days a chorus of people — experts and parents alike — have been calling for a safe return to school especially considering that kids are increasingly isolated and falling further behind.

Dr. Paul Roumeliotis, chair of the Council of Ontario Medical Officers of Health, put it succinctly: “Upon careful review and consideration of local indicators, we believe it is possible, and in fact, imperative, that schools begin to open before the reopening of other sectors, as the stay-at-home orders are lifted provincially ... Safe reopening of all schools in Ontario is essential.”

In a letter to the province the council cited health guidance flagging the “harms of prolonged school closures” and arguing in-person classrooms should be “the last to close and the first to open.”

That makes sense. But what makes even more sense is that school reopening must optimize safety for staff and students, and that means the Ford government cannot cheap out as it has on several key points in the pandemic — long-term care being the most serious example.

So go ahead and invest that money, most of which comes from the federal government to begin with. Get the rest of Ontario’s schools open and do it safely.