Some families, educators in northwestern Ontario frustrated over another shift to online learning
CBC
As students across Ontario prepare to begin at least two weeks of online learning this week, some parents and educators in the northwest are frustrated to have their homes again become classrooms.
This will mark the first mass shift to online learning this academic year, after the previous two years had significant disruptions that forced children out of classroom.
Breanna Jones, who lives in Fort Frances and has a seven-year-old daughter, said she was relieved after Monday's provincial announcement due to the increasing case numbers, but acknowledged it will likely be challenging.
"My daughter, she's a very outgoing and social person, so she really likes being around her friends and everything and working in class," Jones said. "It's hard for her to sit in front of a computer all day and pay attention."
Coming back from the two-week Christmas holiday, school boards and staff had just a few days to prepare for the shift.
Rich Seeley, president of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation District A, which represents teachers and occasional teachers in Thunder Bay, said while it's disappointing to have to suspend in-class learning, he's relieved educators won't be put at risk.
"We all saw this coming a month ago. It's really no surprise," he said. "Online learning is not ideal for students or for teachers. We know this — our experience has taught us this, and it was avoidable.
"We requested back in December that there be a clear plan that included prioritizing education staff for boosters, getting the N95 masks into the schools for staff and students alike, expanding access to rapid tests and getting HEPA filters into the classrooms."
Seeley said education unions have been demanding many of those measures for months, and even over a year, throughout the pandemic.
Allison Sargent, Thunder Bay Catholic District School Board's superintendent of education, said board staff had anticipated a pivot to online learning after the return from the holiday break, but last week, the province provided assurances that schools would be back in class.
That made it frustrating having to change direction on Monday, she said.
"It has forced us to scramble a bit just to get things organized," Sargent said. "We do have a pretty seamless process in place. We hope we've been pretty transparent with communication with our families and with our staff.
"The bottom line is that it is what it is. It's a ministry directive. We can't change it. We just have to do our best to support our staff and our students through pretty significantly challenging times."
Karleigh Anderson said she's frustrated to have her children return to online learning.
P.E.I.'s Public Schools Branch is looking for 50 substitute bus drivers, and it'll be recruiting at three job fairs on Saturday, June 8. The job fairs are located at the Atlantic Superstore in Montague, Royalty Crossing in Charlottetown, and the bus parking lot of Three Oaks Senior High in Summerside. All three run from 9 a.m. until noon. Dave Gillis, the director of transportation and risk management for the Public Schools Branch, said the number of substitute drivers they're hiring isn't unusual. "We are always looking for more. Our drivers tend to have an older demographic," he said.