New Brunswick teachers are preparing to implement the province’s back-to-school plan in two weeks.
Connie Keating, the president of the New Brunswick Teachers’ Association and co-president of the New Brunswick Teachers’ Federation, said she is pleased teachers have direction on how the school year will look.
Education and Early Childhood Development Minister Dominic Cardy unveiled the plan Friday.
It included a requirement that all teachers and school staff be vaccinated fully against COVID-19 or face regular testing.
Keating said up to 90 per cent of teachers may be vaccinated already, although she could not verify the figure.
But she said safety is a top priority for teachers and they are ready to follow guidelines from New Brunswick Public Health.
“Teachers will be aware that if they are not currently vaccinated, that they will be required to wear a mask and get tested regularly,” Keating said.
Bubbles and restrictions on class sizes between Kindergarten and Grade 8 have been removed. Students will be required to wear masks in indoor common areas.
High school students will be returning to full-time, in-class learning after working with a blended program that included at-home learning during the previous school year.
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“Our administrators are back in schools today,” Keating said. “Teachers will join them next week and the plan will evolve. And I would suggest that teachers are always prepared for whatever comes at them.”
Keating said stability in education is key to pandemic recovery, but a shortage of teachers has the potential to create some difficulties in the classroom in the event of an outbreak.
She said multiple, extended teacher absences will create further strain on an already shorthanded system.
“If teachers have symptoms — two symptoms — then they are going to need to stay home,” Keating said. “And so we would definitely be concerned about the number of, or lack thereof, of supply teachers to cover for those teachers.”
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