The provincial government's decision to allow elementary and secondary level students and teachers back into northern classrooms beginning Monday, Jan. 11, despite extending the COVID-19 lockdown of Northern Ontario until at least Jan. 23, has taken some educators and union leaders by surprise.
Some aren’t happy about the government’s choice at all.
“Once again, the Ford government has announced a series of half-measures, which fall well short of a real plan to make our schools as safe as possible. It makes no sense to reopen schools in our community while the spread of COVID-19 appears to be out of control, and the rest of the region is in lockdown,” stated Darrell Czop, Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association (OECTA) Huron-Superior Unit president, in an email to SooToday late Thursday.
“Although encouraged not to, families have traveled in and out of the Algoma region over the Christmas holidays and due to this COVID-19 cases have risen almost 300 per cent within the community. These cases continue to rise daily.”
“The situation today is not the same as it was in September, yet the government seems to think there is no need to take any additional measures to control the spread and keep our students, staff, and their families safe. Locally, hospital visitor restrictions have been put in place, families are told not to visit loved ones, but the government sees no issue with teachers and students being back in classrooms where social distancing is essentially impossible,” Czop wrote.
The local OECTA president wants public health authorities to intervene.
“If the government won’t take the steps necessary to ensure that our schools are as safe as they possibly can be, then I call upon Algoma Public Health to take bold and decisive action by keeping our local schools closed until community spread is under control. These health units have the authority to make this call and the health and safety of students, education workers and their families certainly is worth taking action,” Czop stated.
“We all want our schools to open. But when they do, we want to ensure they will remain open until June."
The provincial government announced Thursday that elementary students and secondary students in the seven Northern Ontario public health unit regions will return to in-person learning on Monday, Jan. 11 (after students were originally supposed to return Jan. 4).
The government will extend online learning until Jan. 25 for all students in southern Ontario in an effort to curb the spread of COVID-19 in that part of the province.
“I’m a little surprised that they allowed the schools to go back (in view of the rising number of COVID cases in our region), but I understand because up here in Northern Ontario it’s hard for our board to do online for some people who live in rural areas where the internet service (necessary for remote learning) may not be as great as it is here in the Sault,” said Terri Lyn Della Penta, OSSTF District 2 president in a phone interview Thursday.
“We’re working with the board to ensure the safety of all staff. That’s the number one priority, is the safety of everybody, and we’re working closely with the board to ensure this happens.”
In the Sault and Algoma region, OSSTF represents mostly ADSB high school teachers and some H-SCDSB noon hour aides.
“We’ve been planning for this. We knew we were going back on Monday (according to the Ministry’s plan for Jan. 11) ...and the board is working closely with us to ensure the safety of everybody. We’re ensuring all staff and students are wearing masks where appropriate and that PPE is available for teachers who work closely with special needs students and the early learners,” Della Penta said.
Representatives from Algoma District Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario (ETFO) and ADSB officials were not immediately available for comment Thursday.
“The government's announcement yesterday afternoon has prompted much feedback,” wrote Rose Burton Spohn, H-SCDSB director of education, in an email received early Friday morning.
“Some individuals are expressing relief and delight that students will be returning to the brick-and-mortar learning environment, where they will be able to see and receive in-person support from their teachers, friends, administrators, and support staff once again. The past three weeks have been difficult for many families, and so the return to a familiar learning environment, where health protocols are in place, is welcome news to them.”
“By contrast, some individuals are expressing concern and dismay that elementary and secondary schools are expected to reopen when many businesses cannot and COVID-19 case numbers continue to increase in our region. The health and safety of children, families, employees, and communities is of utmost concern. These individuals contend that remote learning should continue, for the good of all, until the case numbers decline and the threat of infection from holiday gatherings subsides,” Burton Spohn wrote.
The H-SCDSB states it will be complying with guidance it receives from the Ministry of Education and public health units.
“We will be communicating with our families and employees later today and will include information about both in-person and virtual learning opportunities in our communication. We urge everyone to visit the H-SCDSB website for relevant updates and to do their part to ensure our schools and communities remain as safe as they possibly can be,” Burton Spohn stated.
