By Sheldon Spackman

back in classrooms this fall

Parents, school districts cautiously optimistic with school re-entry plan, teachers have concerns

Jul 22, 2020 | 12:49 PM

Parents and school districts are expressing cautious optimism over the news that students will be back in classrooms under ‘near normal’ circumstances this fall.

The province announced yesterday it is moving ahead under ‘Scenario 1’ of its school re-entry plan – meaning in-school classes will resume but with additional health measures in place.

Scenario 2 would entail in-school classes partially resuming with additional health measures in place, while Scenario 3 would mean at-home learning continues and in-school classes being cancelled again.

Red Deer-South MLA Jason Stephan says the government’s decision was made on the advice of the Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Deena Hinshaw, and after reviewing results from other jurisdictions that returned students to class and their related best practices.

“There were some pilots done during the summer with some of the schools in terms of summer school programming,” Stephan notes. “But probably most important is the Alberta government canvassed with parents and sought their input as to what would best meet the needs of their families and their children and there was overwhelming support for an effort to return to schools.”

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For families that choose to keep their kids at home, Stephan says there are options for them, adding that no one is being ‘forced’ to go back to school.

“We’ve always supported choice in education,” explains Stephan. “In respect of this pandemic, there may be certain specific circumstances with certain households and homes where the parents and the children working together as families, have made the decision that it’s in their best interest to do home schooling. Of course as a government, we would support that decision and the school boards would support that decision for sure.”

As a parent, Jaelene Tweedle, Chair for the City Wide School Council at Red Deer Public Schools, says she’s not surprised by the announcement but admits she’s a bit nervous as the number of active cases of COVID-19 continues to rise.

“If cases keep increasing at the rate they are, I think a decision would have to be made. It wouldn’t be automatic to me anymore,” says Tweedle. “I think people really need to take these next six weeks or the rest of summer to try to set us up for the best possible outcomes for everyone. We all need to make sure that we’re doing the best we can now to try to get numbers under control so that the re-entry in September can be as smooth as possible.”

Kelly Aleman, President for ATA Local 60 (Red Deer Public), says teachers have many concerns that remain unaddressed by the government.

“The association was looking for the government to have a position that would be kind of a universal position across all of the districts. But it seems like the government’s plan is to download that to the districts themselves,” he explains. “The association also wants to take a look at clear protocols for enforcement, implementing sick leave policies for schools, and how we’re going to accomplish the social distancing that the government referenced yesterday.”

Aleman adds, “Teachers are optimistic and want to be with their students and want to be teaching. So it’s a real mixture. Probably grateful to be able to see their kids again but also worried that the government hasn’t invested enough to protect them or the kids that they teach.”

Chad Erickson, Superintendent of Schools at Red Deer Public Schools, says their bottom line is ensuring a safe learning environment for students and staff.

“There’s going to be hand sanitization when they walk into the schools and before they enter classrooms and leave classrooms,” says Erickson. “Potentially some staggered lunchtimes and staggered recesses to minimize the number of people moving through the hallways, attempting to cohort our students as much as possible. But given the announcement being given to us yesterday, it does provide us with some additional time to put some detail and pretty good thought into some of the things that we’re going to do to minimize the risk across our district.”

Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools Interim Superintendent Kathleen Finnigan says she supports the decision to return under Scenario 1, adding that their survey results reveal most students and parents support it as well.

“Our world has definitely changed and I think we have to continue to embrace new practices,” says Finnigan. “So we’re really depending on our parents’ right in the morning to check our students and ensure that they are healthy to come to school and then as parents hand-off their children to us, they trust the school system to keep their children safe and to keep the learning going. We need to be patient with one another, we need to provide support and leave that judgement at the door of the school and come in and team together to take care of one another.”

“This is a good decision. This is the right decision,” concludes MLA Stephan. “And I would just encourage all of us to be vigilant and respectful to support the ability and opportunity for our children to progress and to learn.”