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Information is scarce on how schools will operate when they reopen — virtually — on the Monday after spring break.
One thing is for certain, teachers, education assistants and other support workers are expected to be back on the job starting March 30, raising questions about how they are going to maintain social distance to stop the spread of COVID-19.
One teacher who works in School District 43 told The Tri-City News he’s not certain how staff will be following social distancing protocols when some schools have more than 80 staff members.
Classess will be empty of students when education programming for B.C. students resumes March 30. Read more here.
Even the CoquitlamTeachers’ Association (CTA) is not sure how that is going to work.
“The situation is evolving daily,” CTA president Ken Christensen said in an email to The Tri-City News Friday.
“I am in contact with the board and [BC Teachers’ Federation] nearly constantly,” he said, adding that the CTA remains “concerned for the health and welfare of its members, and awaits further updates from the ministry about their discussions with public health officials.”
Teachers were emailed a a list of expectations regarding “strict health and safety measures for all SD43 employees amid the COVID-19 outbreak.”
It requires staff to stay home if they are ill or experiencing symptoms of illness, and lays out times when hands should be washed with soap and water, including upon arrival at schools, after breaks and close interactions with others.
Teachers have also been ordered to not share office equipment, share food and to avoid skin contact with others, such as shaking hands and hugging.
The rules also recommend a one- to two-metre distance between individuals, and say staff should avoid congregating in common rooms, washrooms or lobby areas. They’re urged to use the phone or technology to converse, instead of face to face, and when in shared office space, they must shift positions for maximum social distancing.
Chairs in common areas should be spaced out according to guidelines or removed completely.
Schools, which are typically a place of face-to-face interaction, are now to be empty of students, although the province has suggested some accommodation will be made for the children of emergency responders, including health care workers, who have to work.
Parents, meanwhile, have a week to figure out how they will manage to supervise children who will be doing their schooling in some form of online fashion. And those whose children need support from an education assistant will be wondering how this will work.
A letter has been sent to parents informing them that the SD43 board of education and staff are “working to develop a plan that will provide educational services to students, in some form, in the weeks after Spring break. While details are unclear, SD43 remains committed to meeting the educational needs of students and services will be prioritized to best serve our families.”
The letter also states a full plan will not be ready March 30. Developing a new mode of instruction for 32,000 students “is not something that can be created overnight and it will take considerable work and cooperation with our teachers and support staff.”
It also notes that every student will receive a final mark and all students on track to move to the next grade will do so in the fall and every student eligible to graduate from Grade 12 this year will graduate. For Grades 10 and 11, students’ graduation assessments will be postponed.
Meanwhile, education assistants are wondering what will happen when they return to work.
CUPE Local 561 president Dave Ginter told The Tri-City News that the union has received information “that all employees are expected to come to work.”
As well, future public board meetings may be held at Winslow Centre in Coquitlam — a large gymnasium — to permit social distancing.
Read more of our COVID-19 coverage here.
