THUNDER BAY - The provincial government's plan for reopening schools in September is receiving a mixed reaction in Thunder Bay, with school boards happy with how things will look, and the Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation saying not enough is being done to protect students and staff.
“I think we were thrilled,” said Lakehead Public Schools director of education Ian MacRae.
“I’m sure our students and parents will be as well. Back to conventional times is going to be welcomed by everyone I think.”
“We are extremely pleased that our students are going to be able to come back face-to-face,” added Pino Tassone, director of education with the Thunder Bay District Catholic School Board. “We know that’s where the best learning takes place and it’s best for their mental health and well being as well.”
The plan for reopening schools was announced on Thursday and will see classrooms across the province reopen in September to students.
All students between Grades 4 and 12 will also be required to wear a mask, along with all staff.
“Being proactive is the best way to go in terms of health and safety,” Tassone said. “I think not only will our parents be pleased about that mandate, but our staff will be pleased because they are recommended to wear masks as well.”
Teachers unions disappointed in reopening plan
The plan for reopening schools is not being praised by everyone, with teachers unions criticizing the provincial government for not consulting with teachers and putting students and staff at risk.
“If they were consulting, yesterday’s plan would have put increased protections in for students in the province and parents in the province should be very concerned about what school will look like in the fall and certainly our front line workers that we represent are equally concerned about their ability to provide the appropriate environment for the kids they serve,” said Paul Caccamo, vice-president of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation.
Caccamo cited the report by the Sick Kids Hospital, which helped create the reopening plan. The report says the use of personal protective equipment, such as mandatory masks, only works if physical distancing can still be maintained.
“The reality is class sizes in Thunder Bay are just as big as any other centre in the province,” he said. “There will be countless classes in the mid-30s to high 30s when school starts in the fall and that is not safe by any metric and the board is not given the resources to address it.”
“It doesn’t matter how many kids are enrolled in the board its’ how many kids are enrolled in the class,” added Rich Seely, the local OSSTF president. “If they can’t social distance in London then they can’t social distance in Thunder Bay.”
Several teachers have already expressed concern about pre-existing health conditions and whether or not their health will be put at risk.
“The teachers who have reached out to me and there is a lot who have are understandably upset and feeling a lot more anxiety,” Seeley said.
“They want to feel safe. The first way they will feel safe is the masks. The second way is having fewer students in the classroom so they can social distance. If you are going to stuff 33 or more people in there, they are not going to feel safe.”
The province also announced more than $300 million in funding for schools to hire more public health nurses and custodial staff and purchase PPE, but it is unclear how that money will be allocated amongst the schools across Ontario.
“We are certainly hopeful we will be funded adequately to put in these enhanced protocols around health and safety,” MacRae said.
“There is not appropriate funding to reduce the number of kids who are going to be in classrooms in school in September and they are going to leave the board trying to make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear and the kids in this province deserve better and so do frontline workers,” Caccamo said.
Parents still have the option to not send their children back to the classroom and online learning options are still available.
MacRae said he is hopeful all students will return but understands if some do not.
More details on what the school year will look like locally are expected to be released next week.
“There are so many unanswered questions,” Caccamo said. “If the last five months are reflective of that, this government is unprepared for that and will defer to the board to answers those questions.”
Seeley said he could not speculate on what actions the OSSTF could take if teachers do not feel it is a safe work environment come September.
“They do want to be in school and they do want to be teaching kids, they just want to do it safely,” he said.
