These are not normal times and we cannot simply return to the old status quo. We urge that, as well as a safe return to school, we need a gentle return to the upcoming school year. We need to go slow.
A paper released by professors Carol Campbell and Beverly-Jean Daniel, Annie Kidder of People for Education, and education researcher Ruth Baumann.
Go slow.
The Ontario government is now facing growing calls from teachers’ unions, advocacy groups and health experts to delay or phase-in the start of school this fall, amid concerns about the spread of COVID-19 if all two million students return to class at once.
In British Columbia, the government has announced teachers will now have until Sept. 10 — an extra two days — to prepare their classrooms for students.
It’s part of what the B.C. government is calling an “orientation week” for students and teachers, with staff members meeting on Sept. 8 to discuss how the health guidelines will work in their school.
Experts say Ontario would be wise to follow B.C.’s lead.
Dr. Anna Banerji, a pediatrician and infectious disease expert at the University of Toronto, thinks a delay to school reopenings “would be a very good idea across the country.”
Even just a couple of days, as B.C. has done, would give teachers a chance to problem-solve and look at implementing simple but effective measures, Banerji said, such as drawing arrows on the ground to create one-direction pathways, or rearranging larger spaces like gyms and auditoriums to create more classrooms.
Some have called for an even longer delay to the start of the school year, suggesting classes begin later in the fall or even in January. Banerji says creating an orientation week, and giving teachers an extra two days before students arrive, is a smart balance.
“We could wait a couple years until the pandemic is gone and we have a vaccine, but I think people are suffering and children are suffering,” she said. “Waiting until January makes it very difficult for a lot of families and children.”
But some education experts say a gradual return, drawn out over days or even weeks, would be the best approach.
“It is understandable that there is an urgent quest for some forms of normalcy, including the reopening of schools,” says a paper released by University of Toronto education professor Carol Campbell and Ryerson professor Beverly-Jean Daniel, Annie Kidder of People for Education, and education researcher Ruth Baumann.
“However, these are not normal times and we cannot simply return to the old status quo. We urge that as well as a safe return to school, we need a gentle return to the upcoming school year. We need to go slow.”
Although each board could do this differently, and “while we all want to see children returning to attending school five days a week when it is safe and possible to do so, there is no compelling reason for having every student return on the very first day,” says the paper.
“Ontario schools have often done staggered re-entries in the past” and other countries have also used it to reopen after getting past the first wave of COVID-19, including Denmark and Germany.
The paper suggests that younger students could go in first, as older students gradually return.
In high schools, Grade 9 students could begin classes first since they missed out on orientation after schools were shut down in March, or start with Grade 12 students to ensure they get in as much instructional time as possible before graduation.
The province has mandated that all students wear masks, all day, starting in Grade 4, and that high school students in larger urban boards will be in classes of 15 and only attend part time. Concerns have been raised about elementary class sizes, which will remain unchanged.
The government is providing boards more than $309 million on COVID-related costs, including hiring 500 public health nurses for schools. Premier Doug Ford said Wednesday that he’d be “flexible” when he was asked about delaying the start of the school year.
“We have to be able to sit down and listen to everyone, and that’s what we’re doing,” Ford said. “We have to be flexible when it comes to education and protecting the kids.”
The premier also said he wants to work with teachers’ unions, to “sit down and listen,” and put aside any differences.
But critics warn that with just a couple of weeks to go before school starts, time is running out.
“We must consider delaying the start of back to school in order to give school boards more time and more resources to deliver a safe return,” said Liberal Leader Steven Del Duca. “Most school boards need more time and more provincial investment to get class sizes down.”
In British Columbia, Education Minister Rob Fleming noted that schools are going to look different in September. “Staff, students and parents need time to get familiar with all the new health and safety procedures that are designed to keep them safe and confident in their school settings,” Fleming said.
B.C.’s teachers’ union says the two-day delay is a “reasonable” approach.
“I think a couple of days right now is a good start,” said Teri Morring, president of the B.C. Teachers Federation. “There will need to be time throughout the school year dedicated to health and safety training.”
B.C. school boards can ask students to arrive at school earlier but are required to have students in classrooms by Sept. 10, when “students will be assigned to their class, find out who is in their learning group, practise their new routines and familiarize themselves with how to safely move from the class to outdoor and common areas of the school, according to a government news release.