Teachers and school support staff across Simcoe County have been left with more questions than answers on Monday, according to local teachers unions.
On Jan. 3, Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced the province would return to a modified step two of the Roadmap to Reopen due to what he called a "tsunami" of new COVID-19 cases, which will include lowering social gathering limits, closing gyms and indoor dining, and moving schools to virtual learning.
This means schools will be pivoting to virtual learning until at least Jan. 17. Special education students will still be learning in person.
“This announcement is very conflicting,” said Jen Hare, Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation (OSSTF) bargaining unit president for Simcoe County.
“On the one hand, we know that schools were driving community transmission prior to the holiday break and none of the additional measures the ministry has offered to make schools safer (N95s or additional HEPA filters) have arrived,” she said.
Hare points to other measures promised by the provincial government she says still haven’t arrived, including Rapid Antigen Tests for staff and students, more effective contact tracing, improved ventilation in all classrooms, superior masks for students and smaller class sizes to allow for physical distancing.
“The problem comes, on the other hand, with the lateness of the announcement. Premier Ford referred to having made this decision in 30 seconds, but there were a number of outbreaks in our schools prior to the break and we saw the daily case counts skyrocket over the holidays,” said Hare.
Leading into the holiday break the week of Dec. 24, there were 37 total active outbreaks in Simcoe Muskoka: 29 of which were in educational settings, five in congregate settings and three in institutional settings.
“Education workers are now tasked with creating new lessons and preparing online learning platforms over the next 24 hours to be able to meet the needs of all students on Wednesday morning,” she said.
Hare says that while students aren’t expected to be in class until Jan. 5, teachers and support staff went back to their schools Monday to prepare.
“We aren't sure what the requirements for work location will be moving forward with virtual learning,” she said. “This has caused a significant amount of anxiety for education workers across Simcoe County.”
Hare says the OSSTF has been told by the Simcoe County District School Board that N95 masks are on order for staff and are expected to arrive the week of Jan. 10.
Allyn Janicki, president of the Simcoe Muskoka branch of OECTA (Ontario English Catholic Teachers' Association) representing secondary teachers and Kent MacDonald, president of the Simcoe Muskoka branch of OECTA representing elementary teachers, said teachers at the Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board have been attending school in-person Monday and Tuesday this week with some exceptions.
Janicki and MacDonald said the Ford government and the Ministry of Education have refused to take meaningful and proactive steps to ensure that schools are safe.
“Education workers are weary, and yes; some are afraid,” said Janicki. “They have consistently been demoralized by this government who has failed to prioritize their safety and the safety of their students throughout the pandemic.”
Janicki says education workers have not been prioritized for vaccinations or boosters, and were not provided access to Rapid Antigen Test kits over the holidays.
“The government continues to emphasize they will be providing an extra 3,000 HEPA filters, without putting the proper context: that is less than one HEPA filter per school. They have had almost two years to address safety measures,” she said.
Janicki says the move to online learning does ease some of the anxiety teachers are feeling about their safety, however, their impending return still hangs heavy on many of their minds without a clear plan on how schools will be safer come Jan. 17.
Recommendations from OECTA on how schools could be safer for in-person learning include reducing class sizes to promote physical distancing, prioritizing access to booster shots for all education workers; adding COVID-19 to the list of designated diseases that require an immunization under the Immunization of School Pupils Act, improving ventilation and install HEPA filters in all classrooms and public spaces in schools, and providing non-fit-tested N95 masks.
“Schools are not only about learning. They provide critical supports of all kinds to students and families in our communities. Schools should be open. This outcome was preventable; The negligence of this government has forced this closure,” said Janicki.
Donnie Mills, president of the Simcoe County Elementary Teachers’ Federation, did not return a request for comment by publication time.
SEE MORE: Ontario returning to modified step two of Roadmap to Reopen
