The union representing Central Okanagan teachers is calling for enhanced COVID-19 protections now that Okanagan students have started up class again after winter break.
However, it doesn’t seem school boards plan to make any major changes for the time being.
The president of the Central Okanagan Teachers’ Association Susan Bauhart said the return to in-person classes as scheduled is “pretty concerning.”
“Alberta, Ontario, Quebec have all scheduled some kind of a delay,” Bauhart pointed out.
“We all know that not everybody followed the public health orders over the Christmas break…I’m concerned about the kind of exposures that could be coming.”
With schools back in session, the union is asking for more widespread mask wearing and smaller class sizes, at least for the next couple of weeks, to enhance COVID-19 protection while we wait to see what impact winter break will have on COVID-19 exposures.
“The new concern is this variant, the new variant. Nobody knows what impact this is going to have here, in Britain it’s alarming,” Bauhart said.
“We all know that schools reflect what goes on in the outside community.”
However, the school district superintendent Kevin Kaardal feels the new variant is not an immediate concern in the Okanagan as the number cases identified in Canada have been small.
“I would suggest that kids need to be in school. Schools are some of the safest places you can be and we’ve seen that over the last four months,” Kaardal said.
The school district said it will be watching for any spikes in COVID-19 exposures, but its not promising an enhanced mask policy.
Instead the district said it will follow the province’s lead when it comes to safety protocols.
“Masks are one layer of protection that we have in schools,” Kaardal said.
“Of course there is nothing preventing students from wearing masks or staff from wearing masks at all times if they wish too.”
The concern over back to school isn’t keeping the majority of families from opting to return to in class learning.
The district said student absenteeism was at a normal level for the first day back, just under 10 per cent.
“We have very low absenteeism from teachers and they are attending, running classes and using all the protocols we have to keep schools as safe as possible,” Kaardal said.
With the return to class already underway, the teacher’s union said what families can do now is follow the key rule and keep kids home when they are sick.
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