ON school reopening plan seems determined to spend as little as possible in response to public outrage at how education, health of students, teachers & families & the ability of parents & school staff to do their jobs are being pitted against each other. #onted #SafeSeptember /1
It doesn't adequately address health concerns for students & staff & their families (but nice suggestions like increased signage, removing "unnecessary furniture" [??] & handwashing breaks). And it's clearly designed to make online learning the norm for older kids. /2
And as with the already underfunded current system, it relies on parents, educators, education workers & students to compensate for what's NOT being provided publicly (with added health implications)... /3
...like parents' time to support online learning, educators having to teach in-class & online, students forced to constantly adapt while trying to learn in a rapidly changing educational terrain, families w/ means hiring private tutors to supplement their kids' learning.../4
...(if they don't move to the private system out of frustration & fear)...against a backdrop of the knowledge that their safety is not something worth protecting or spending sufficient funds to ensure. /5
The focus on full week schooling for elementary students seems driven by the need to eliminate child care responsibilities so parents of young kids can return to work. The tradeoff is larger classes and utterly inadequately addressed physical distancing concerns. /6
HS students also get the same class size, but split into "cohorts" for boards unlucky enough to have classes of more than 15 & the tradeoff for fewer kids is half-week in-school learning, half week online learning. /7
...which -- let's be clear -- did not work well for all kids during the lockdown, & while improvements can be made with the switch from crisis learning to more organized online learning, will result in deeper divides between kids. /8
Nowhere near enough funding for adequate safety & cleaning measures to address windows that don't open, poor air circulation, & insufficient numbers of custodial staff to keep facilities clean. And I'm not even talking about the $16.3B maintenance & repair backlog. /9
An aside: schools recently shuttered due to being "under capacity" (disproportionately impacting inner city schools which provided all sorts of other services like child care & adult ed) would help with physical distancing and class size concerns right now. /10
How does an additional $10M even begin to meet the requirements of students with special needs? What does this plan mean for the Arts? For electives? For kids who require extra supports? How does this adequately address transportation? /11
My youngest is expected to go back to the same size classroom as last year’s, in conditions I am not convinced are safe for him, his classmates, or the school staff (and their families). /12
My eldest will go back to HS for a 50/50 split of in-school & online, & the very real possibility of increased remote learning as she gets older, in a province that has decided to think small when it comes to our kids & their future while risking the health of thousands. /13
A #SafeSeptember must acknowledge the important relationship between schools & communities, & the unique role of schools as places of work, places of learning & places of care. And then we must provide the resources necessary for them to live up to this responsibility. /14
