Catholic board votes for regular class sizes

Toronto’s Catholic board is proposing that if schools open fulltime this fall, class sizes won’t be any smaller.

Despite an amendment seeking no more than 15 students in a “cohort,” trustees voted to keep class sizes as they are in both elementary and secondary schools.

Trustee Norm Di Pasquale, who proposed the 15-student cap at Thursday night’s meeting, said some of his colleagues felt that option “wasn’t realistic,” believing the government won’t provide necessary funding to hire extra teachers.

However, his recommendations to provide face masks to any student or staff who request PPE passed.

At the request of the province, boards are creating plans for the fall based on three scenarios: online only, in-class or a combination of the two.

Education Minister Stephen Lecce has recently signalled that when he announces which direction the province is headed next week, more resources and supports will be provided.

The Toronto and Halton public boards have both urged the government to forget the hybrid model, saying working parents in particular would have to scramble for child care, and have asked for creative solutions such as outdoor classrooms or extra space in unused buildings to accommodate smaller classes. NDP Leader Andrea Horwath said “during this pandemic, parents have been doing the superhuman work of juggling parenting, working from home and supporting kids with at-home learning. Knowing how incredibly difficult that’s been, I’m shocked that (Premier) Doug Ford appears not to be taking any action at all to get enough safe, small classrooms ready so every child can go back to school in the fall.”

She said, “If I were premier, I’d be hiring teachers and education workers, sourcing temporary classrooms and getting extra supports lined up for students with special needs. There’s no time to waste if we’re going to be ready for fall.”

In Markham on Friday, Ford said that “people want certainty, they want to know that they can come into work and their kids are going to be somewhere safe for five days a week, and that’s our ultimate goal.”