Education Minister Adriana LaGrange (Photo: Government of Alberta)

By Abby Zieverink - EverythingGP

Alberta Education Minister confident back to school plan prioritizes health, safety

Sep 1, 2021 | 5:04 PM

Alberta’s Minister of Education is confident in the health and safety guidance the province has laid out to keep students and staff safe as they return to the classroom for the 2021-22 school year.

Although new cases of COVID-19 are rising across Alberta, Adriana LaGrange tells EverythingGP she is confident in the science and research that health officials have been following to make the province-wide back-to-school plan.

“Dr. Hinshaw and her team, who continue to give us great guidance in this area, particularly on the health measures, that they continue to follow the numbers, follow the transmission rates, etc. that they are feeling still that we are on a good path forward.”

The province’s back-to-school plan for the 2021/22 school year, guided by the Chief Medical Officer of Health and her team, set no province-wide mask mandate in place. LaGrange does say though, local school divisions do have an option to add additional measures if they feel it’s necessary.

LaGrange says although health measures for this school year are slightly different than last year, she is confident as more Albertans are getting vaccinated, she believes “students and staff are in safe places.”

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“Now, thanks to the fact that millions of Albertans have been able to be vaccinated, that has made a difference, so our students will be able to go back to being involved in sports and in music, and really just taking a more active heart in their day-to-day life,” explained LaGrange.

“We know that the most effective measure against COVID is vaccinations. So, beyond the vaccination programs that are happening out in the community, we have the in-school vaccination program (with parental consent for students aged 12+), which will be starting on September 7 in most school divisions.”

LaGrange says at the provincial level, any school division wanting to go “above and beyond” the provincial health measures, would be supported.

“I know that school divisions, that is front of mind for all of them and that has been and always will be my top concern, that our students and staff are in safe places,” LaGrange said.

“School divisions, obviously, are going to do what is in the best interest of their local context, but I’m very confident that we continue to put the safety and security of our staff and students as the number one priority,” explained LaGrange.

LaGrange adds The Guidance for Respiratory Illness Prevention and Management was put forward for the provincial education system by Dr. Hinshaw and her team.

“And what it does, is basically follow the measures that occur in schools when any other illness is reported in schools,” said LaGrange.

What that means is the province has not made it a requirement for school authorities to notify families of positive cases in the school setting.

However, LaGrange says officials will be monitoring the COVID situation in schools closely, and local plans could be subject to change if transmission within the school setting becomes an issue.

“There’s conversations that are had with the regional medical officers of health, and then further investigation (is) done at that point in time, and those medical officers of health are able to guide school divisions with additional health measures.”

She does suggest, though, if a whole school division or school wants to transition to all online classes due to a rise in COVID cases, further conversations would occur with provincial health and education officials to address that.

“School divisions are still able to transition a classroom or a grade to online learning should it be required for operational reasons, which we saw in the past year… But, if they want to transition a whole school or school division, then those are broader conversations that have to be had at a provincial level.”

She adds, while she is confident in the plan, she does say health officials are keeping up-to-date and are ready to adjust their plans as needed.

“They are in constant contact with myself and my department to let us know if there is any changes that would need to be made.”

“Jason Kenney has put families in a devastating position at a time that should be so exciting,” said NDP Critic for Education Sarah Hoffman, in a press release Wednesday. “If the government wants to keep kids in school, there are a number of measures we’ve proposed they must make a reality.”

The Alberta NDP proposed that contact tracing be reinforced throughout the province, for COVID-19 testing to continue for the foreseeable future, and for a school-by-school vaccination program to be implemented for those students who are eligible for the vaccine.

“We called for this months ago. I expected the Education Minister to be rolling this out today, but she’s nowhere to be found,” said Hoffman. “We also need to address mental health among students and staff. That’s why last week I was proud to stand and call for a mental health counsellor to be hired for every single school in Alberta.”

“The UCP owes it to kids to do everything in their power to keep classrooms safe so students and staff can focus on learning,” said Hoffman. “I don’t understand this blatant disregard for children’s safety and well-being.”

(With files from Shaun Penner and rdnewsNOW)