The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) is calling upon Medical Officers of Health, in public health units across Ontario, to reconsider the return of all elementary students to in-class learning next week.
“Educators know that in-person learning provides the most effective and equitable learning environment, but unfortunately we are at the height of this pandemic,” stated Sam Hammond, president of ETFO, in a media release.
“It makes no sense for the government to send students, teachers and education workers back to school while the province is locked for another two to three weeks.”
Hammond added: “Despite repeated calls for adequate safety measures, the government has refused to implement them in a misguided effort to save money, jeopardizing the health and safety of students, educators and their families.”
ETFO officials added with vaccines slowly being rolled out, everything must be done to protect those who are most vulnerable.
“The provincial government’s failure to listen to the advice of medical professionals has resulted in the current crisis we are facing,” Hammond said.
“So now, we are asking Public Health Units to use their authority to reconsider the decision to resume in-person learning for all elementary students on January 11, particularly in communities where the rate of community transmission is high, and to implement asymptomatic surveillance testing in schools to ensure that we can better understand the role that schools are playing in the spread of the virus and base future decisions on sound data.”
Dr. David Fisman, Professor of Epidemiology at the University of Toronto, says there is a 10 per cent daily increase in ICU occupancy in Ontario right now.
“This is not the right time to restart in-person learning,” Dr. Fisman said in a media release.
“We have to assume that there is a lot of asymptomatic COVID-19 in schools. It is irresponsible to send children and educators back to schools without knowing for sure that it is safe to do so.”
ETFO officials say they continue to demand that the provincial government provide much-needed supports to families, especially during periods when schools are closed to in-person attendance.
“We also continue our advocacy to ensure that the government acknowledge and address the disproportionate impact the pandemic has had on marginalized communities, in particular racialized and low-income families,” Hammond added.
A safe return cannot be ensured unless urgent and immediate actions are taken to implement a safety plan that reduces class sizes, improves ventilation, and introduces broad in-school asymptomatic testing when in-person attendance resumes, EFTO officials say.
ETFO represents 83,000 elementary public school teachers, occasional teachers and education professionals across the province.
The Lambton-Kent District School Board and the St. Clair Catholic District School Board began remote learning on Monday, January 4, 2021.
As it stands currently for both local school boards, on January 11, 2021, elementary students will return to in-person learning and secondary students will continue remote learning until Friday, January 22, 2021.
On Monday, January 25, 2021, secondary students will return to in-person learning.
Earlier this week, ​Ontario Minister of Education Stephen Lecce issued a letter to parents/guardians regarding elementary and secondary student learning in January financial relief for parents/guardians and keeping schools safe in 2021.
Read Minister Lecce’s letter, here.
