As most students in London, Ont., prepare to head back to school on Wednesday with COVID-19 restrictions almost a thing of the past, a local teachers federation is hopeful that this upcoming year will be as normal as possible.
“The beginning of every school year is an exciting time,” said Craig Smith, president of the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) Thames Valley Teacher Local.
“But I do think that this year, as it has been the last couple of years, with regards to the pandemic, that there’s some apprehension about what the return to school will look like.”
For the first time since the start of the pandemic, students across Ontario will be able to attend in-person classes without mandatory masking. Smith said that while a large step forward in COVID-19 recovery, teachers have expressed some concerns about guaranteed safety.
“There is some concern though, that with the isolation requirements going being removed that we’re going to see some bumpiness as the school year progresses.
“It remains to be seen how it will play out,” he added.
Near the end of the 2021-2022 school year, amid a combination of rising COVID-19 numbers and increasing staff shortages across, the Thames Valley District School Board (TVDSB) worked to encourage the mental health and well-being of their educators — something Smith said will continue into the fall.
“All we want is for people smiling, happy, and back to school and normal,” he said.
Ontario’s education minister Steven Lecce “guaranteed” that classrooms and schools will remain open over the duration of the year, regardless of potential provincial spikes in infections.
“I am fully committed to a stable return to class without disruption through to the end of June,” he wrote in a statement. “By working together, we can help Ontario students continue to learn in-person for the entire school year, catch up on their studies, and enjoy the normal school experience that students deserve.”
On Tuesday, Lecce stressed to Global News the importance of helping students who may have fallen behind in their studies due to the stress of the pandemic in their “Plan to Catch Up.”
The five-step plan will emphasize two points, according to Lecce: the expansion of tutoring and putting a major emphasis on teaching young people life and job skills.
“Enough of this theory,” he said. “I don’t want to hear kids saying, ‘Why didn’t I learn that,’ I’m trying to give young people skill sets that they can use in their life, personal budgeting, coding financial literacy, learning about taxation, mortgages, credit and debt.
Additionally, Lecce addressed the importance of ensuring that there is an adequate number of staff.
“There’s 5,000 more staff, educators, EAS, ECS, individuals who are given the mandate to help these kids catch up on their study,” he said.
Last month, as contracts with unions representing Ontario education workers expired at the end of August, staff could now be walking off the job as early as October, after their union set a strike vote.
The Canadian Union of Public Employees, which represents 55,000 workers, will open voting for members from Sept. 23 to Oct. 2 on whether to set a strike mandate.
Lecce had criticized the move as premature, as CUPE began planning for the votes before the government’s first offer was tabled.
Premier Doug Ford said teachers and educators could expect raises above the one-per cent gap imposed by his government when he first came into power.
However, union officials stated they’re going after more significant raises to “keep up” with the rising cost of inflation.
“We’re not going to accept unreasonable demands on the taxpayer, we’re going to stand up for them,” Lecce told Global News. “But we are going to value and honor the workers and give them something reasonable, which we thought a two per cent over a four-year deal would achieve.
“I just really hope that we can remind ourselves that after two extraordinary years, the one thing is that these kids deserve to be in school, and I’m telling parents, clearly and unambiguously, we will do whatever is necessary to ensure your children remain in school,” he concluded.