Red Deer Public Schools Superintendent Chad Erickson (Photo: Red Deer Public Schools)

By Sheldon Spackman

in-person attendance rates remain high

City school districts stress vigilance to tackle COVID-19

Nov 17, 2020 | 3:31 PM

Local school districts are strongly urging parents, teachers, and students to remain vigilant in practicing safe COVID-19 protocols to help flatten the curve and avoid bringing the virus into school settings.

In a letter to families on Friday, Red Deer Public Schools (RDPSD) Board Chair Nicole Buchanan and Superintendent Chad Erickson noted 27 cases of COVID-19 reported in 10 of their schools (as of Nov. 13).

An additional case has since been identified at Lindsay Thurber high school on Monday – their 10^th in the past two weeks.

“The impact of that has been significant with almost a thousand students and staff needing to self-isolate and stay at home as a precaution,” said Erickson. “We are not aware of any in-school transmission. That means we all need to be diligent in minimizing contact with others and following health protocols.”

District officials say in-person learning numbers remain steady at roughly 90 per cent across Red Deer Public Schools.

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Although they have tried to keep disruptions in learning to a minimum for students that have been required to isolate, Erickson says it does not mean that learning from home has been easy.

“Teaching and learning to kids at home is inherently more difficult,” he acknowledged. “Most times this cannot involve live teaching. That is why we want to try to keep as many students as possible learning in our classrooms.”

For families considering changes to how their children are learning this year, re-entry dates are Dec. 7 and Mar. 22 for both elementary and middle school students, and Feb. 1 for high school students.

Erickson said that while Alberta Health Services faces significant challenges and delays in contact tracing, the district and its schools, using AHS criteria, have been reaching out and speaking with parents personally to make them aware their child needs to isolate if they have been deemed a close contact.

“By making earlier contact, we are confident we are assisting in reducing further transmission. We are also able to answer and clarify any questions families may have. Please note, if cases continue to rise in schools we may have to rely on email, text or automated phone calls for communication.”

To maintain this support, Red Deer Public is asking for parents to help by contacting your school principal if you become aware of a positive test, make sure your contact information is up to date, staying home if you have symptoms, and to speak with your child about not posting positive results on social media.

“We also encourage parents to speak with their child about falsely posting they have tested positive for COVID-19 on social media,” said Erickson.

At Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools (RDCRS), Division Principal Jodi Smith says the absenteeism rate is higher in schools that have recently experienced a COVID-19 case.

“The classroom teacher works with those in self-isolation due to a case of COVID-19 at the school to ensure learning continues,” explains Smith. “At this point, our numbers are fairly stable for those who want to do at-home learning. Our school division also offers an at-home learning program where students can only enroll at the beginning of each semester.”

Smith notes they are continuing to plan for different scenarios to prepare for what could happen in the coming weeks.

“All staff, students and their families are struggling with different components of COVID-19,” says Smith. “We continue to bring hope into our schools by celebrating student’s successes, supporting mental wellness, and leaning on faith by trusting in the Lord.”

Currently, only Red Deer’s Holy Family School is listed as having an outbreak (two cases).

Smith reiterates the strong need for everyone to remain vigilant in following public health guidelines, both at schools, and in all other areas of your day-to-day life.

“Through continued communication around the importance of physical distancing, masking, hand washing/sanitizing, as well as parents following the self-screening questionnaire daily, will continue to help mitigate the transmission of the virus in our schools,” she implores. “We are grateful for the communication from our stakeholders, informing us of positive COVID-19 results, allowing us to take swift measures to protect the health and safety of our entire Division.”