Lethbridge Collegiate Institute. (Lethbridge News Now)

By rdnewsNOW staff

COVID-19

Alberta schools will return to ‘near-normal operations’ in September

Jul 21, 2020 | 3:48 PM

EDMONTON – Alberta students will back in the classroom in a little over a month as schools return to near-normal operations for the 2020-21 school year.

“Come September, our school days will look mostly the same as before COVID-19 but with some modifications,” said Education Minister Adriana LaGrange.

She said Alberta Health has provided thorough guidance for the re-entry plan and a re-entry tool kit has been established.

“We are determined to do everything that we can possibly do to safely return students to class. However, we will continue to adjust protocols as required on the advice of our chief medical officer of health and in consultation with the education system, said LaGrange, who said the decision was made now, amid a rise in cases, to provide clarity for the school system and families.

On the plan for if an outbreak occurs in a school, LaGrange said if there is a positive test a public health team will investigate to determine when symptoms developed and will support the school to minimize the transmission.

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“Parents will be notified if a case of COVID-19 is confirmed in their school, and public health officials will contact those who were in close contact with that person.”

If there are outbreaks in school or community settings, health officials and school authorities will discuss moving to partial in-class learning or at-home learning. The government will make the final decision on such a move based on factors such as the number of cases and the risk of ongoing transmission.

“There is no risk-free approach to COVID-19, but there are also risks to children’s overall health from school closures,” Dr. Deena Hinshaw, chief medical officer of health, said. “We are continually refining our public health advice for schools based on best available evidence. We also have plans in place to respond quickly when cases are identified. Limiting the spread of the virus in schools will require the dedication and support of all Albertans when the school year begins this fall.”

She said everyone in the school community will have to do their part and follow public health guidance to keep each other safe.

“We must be agile, adaptive and guided by the evidence as it emerges,” Hinshaw added. “This is the best way to protect the health, safety and wellbeing of students, staff, families and communities.”

Premier Jason Kenney says health and education officials have developed state-of-the-art protocols for minimizing the risk of transmission at schools and adds the protocols will be reviewed regularly.

“This does not mean there will be no cases in schools,” he said. “It means rather that we have calculated the relative risks of reopening against the risk of continued closures. And we’ve made the best decision to serve the public interest.”

Kenney said 86 per cent of respondents to an Alberta School Council Association survey said they want their children back in school.

Students and staff will be able to wear masks if they so choose, said Kenney, and Hinshaw added those who wear a mask should be supported if they choose so.

Other health measures at schools will include grouping students in cohorts, increased cleaning and daily-self assessments.

The education minister said school authorities have been receiving full funding allotments since July 1 and every school authority in the province is receiving a funding increase for the upcoming school year. She said she’s also approved the use of school board reserves to help cover costs local costs related to COVID-19.

Students and teachers returning to in-school teaching with some health measures was the preferred option of three potential scenarios presented by LaGrange in June.

One other scenario had in-school classes only partially resuming because of additional health requirements and at-home learning would continue in the third scenario.

The NDP Opposition says the province’s plan puts students, staff and families at risk by failing to cap class sizes or provide schools with sufficient resources to meet safety standards.

“It’s not about stay open versus stay closed, it’s about open versus open safely,” said Rachel Notley, Leader of the NDP Official Opposition. “Jason Kenney has chosen just ‘open’.”

While the NDP support the specific safety measures recommended by Dr. Hinshaw, Notley said Kenney and LaGrange have not provided school districts with the resources to act on them.

“There is no increase in per-capita student funding. After a series of deep cuts to the education budget, the UCP is now asking schools to do the impossible. They are asking them to impose a set of safety obligations onto a school system that is stressed already, that has fewer resources to accomplish this task. There is a complete failure here to acknowledge that these things come at an additional cost and it’s the government’s role to guarantee school can meet the standard.”

(With file from Chris Brown – CHAT News Today)