BARRHEAD, ATHABASCA & WESTLOCK – Teachers in Aspen View Public Schools and the Pembina Hills School Division are nervous with the phased re-opening of schools slated for Sept. 2.
That is what Stephanie Cumbleton and Michell Savoie told Town and Country This Week — Cumbleton is the president of Alberta Teachers’ Association Local 7 Aspen View, while Savoie is the president of Local 22 Pembina Hills.
They are also teachers in their respective divisions as Cumbleton is a junior high school teacher at Boyle School and Savoie is a Grade 6-9 science teacher at Eleanor Hall School in Clyde.
We reached out to Cumbleton and Savoie to see how their colleagues feel about the province’s plan to re-open schools at near-normal operations with some health measures in place to help protect students and staff against COVID-19.
On Aug. 20, ATA president Jason Schilling asked education minister Adriana LaGrange to delay the opening of K-12 schools until after Labour Day raising teachers concerns over the re-entry plan and that they needed more time to prepare for student’s return.
LaGrange denied the ATA’s request stating that individual school boards have the choice of delaying the start of school or staggering re-entry — a decision both school divisions made.
Originally, Aspen View schools were slated to open to students on Aug. 31, but on Aug. 24, the start date was moved to Sept. 2.
Aspen is also staggering the student entry at Athabasca schools as well as Boyle School, while Grassland School has one start date.
Although Cumbleton said the extra time to prepare is appreciated, especially for teachers in the elementary grades, still have concerns about the province’s plan.
The biggest of which, Cumbleton said, is classroom size.
"The thing a lot of teachers were hoping for is the government would honour our [ATA] request for smaller class sizes. That is something that would have mitigated a lot of the risk," she said. "Instead of having 25 to 35 students in a classroom. Reducing the number to 15 makes it much easier for everyone to be adequately distanced and not to constantly worry about rubbing shoulders with each other."
Cumbleton said members are also concerned that the province has not put enough resources into providing enough personal protective equipment (PPE) for students and school staff.
The province is mandating that masks be worn when students are in common spaces such as hallways and school buses and classrooms when teachers and students are working closely together. Staff will be required to wear masks in all settings where physical distancing cannot be maintained. AVPS are following the province's mandate.
She said because of class sizes, available space and how some classrooms are configured, it will mean students will be required to wear masks virtually the entire time they are at school.
As a result, she believes the two masks the government will be supplying will not be enough or one day, as they will quickly become damp, making them less effective.
Cumbleton added wearing masks for such long periods will also negatively impact student learning.
"It will be an extra stressor for them and cause a lot of frustration at a time when they are supposed to be focused on learning," she said.
Another concern, members expressed to Cubleton was the pool of available substitute teachers.
"There was a shortage of substitutes already," she said. "It will only be compounded if a teacher gets sick and has to self-isolate for 10 days."
Cumbleton said she can picture a scenario where half the staff has to self-isolate, potentially forcing the school to go back to teacher-directed online learning.
"I know these are all what-if scenarios, and nobody has these answers, but these are the things teachers are thinking about," she said. "As teachers, we like to plan ahead and this is the first time in most of our careers when we really can't do that."
Pembina Hills
One day might not seem like a lot of time, but for Pembina Hills School Division (PHSD) teachers it is.
That is what Savoie said about the school division's plans to delay school's re-opening by one day and stagger students reentry.
"We understand the school boards are doing the best that they can, but it is a stressful time for everybody," Savoie said. "There are so many extra things we have to do now, we have to monitor student health, hand sanitizing and hygiene, above and beyond what we have to do as teachers and that is why our members appreciate the extra time prepare."
She also Local 22 members were disappointed the government did not give more credence to the ATA's ask for the creation of an ongoing multistakeholder working group that includes public health.
The suggestion was part of a list of seven priorities the union wanted to have addressed as part of the school relaunch strategy.
Savoie said all of this comes at an already stressful time for Pembina Hills School Division teachers noting it comes on the heels of the announcement in mid-August that the Alberta Distance Learning Centre (ADLC) in Barrhead will cease operations at the end of 2020-2021 school year.
"We are the largest employer in the Pembina Hills area and we are losing 22 per cent of our staff [teachers and support] because ADLC will be closing. All of this is was already stressful and now you add in everything that comes with the pandemic," she said.
