Faced with the increase in the number of cases of COVID-19 which is not running out of steam, a return to class on January 17 is a “desirable” goal, according to unions and management, but which is moving away for parents.
“I don’t see how we could reopen in two weeks. ”
Spokesperson for the Regroupement des committees de parents autonomes du Québec, Sylvain Martel explains that, faced with the rise in the number of COVID-19 cases, there is much more to preparing for distance school “for a little bit” than ‘to consider a return to class.
Because school is a place where we “multiply contacts, there must first be stabilization [du nombre] of cases, ”says Kathleen Legault, president of the Montreal Association of School Directions (AMDES).
Because if schools were to open this Wednesday, we would face the same problem as in hospitals: staff sidelined because of COVID-19. “This is a major concern,” says Mme Legault.
“Teachers are becoming increasingly rare with the outbreaks we are experiencing. There is a reality: if we want to return to school face-to-face at some point, it will take people, ”observes Josée Scalabrini, president of the Federation of Education Unions (FSE).
In this context, more vaccination spots should be opened so that staff can obtain their third dose before re-entry in person. Some reported to the FSE that they could not get an appointment until the end of January.
Problems remain
The Legault government has repeatedly reiterated its desire to close schools as little as possible, but if it wishes to reopen them in two weeks, it will have to say “how we have secured the premises”, says Mme Scalabrini.
She cites the quality of the air, a problem that “we have not just discovered”. “We were talking about it a year and a half ago. This is the second winter that we are living with that and we have never succeeded in reassuring the teachers in the field ”, says Mme Scalabrini, who reminds us that teachers are still being told to open the windows in the middle of winter.
Ontario announced a few days ago that 3,000 air purifiers would be purchased for schools across the province and that N95 masks would be provided to staff.
Should we install air purifiers in classrooms? The FSE does not risk asking them formally.
Even if [le gouvernement] said tomorrow morning that there would be air purifiers in all classrooms, no one is going to believe it.
Josée Scalabrini, President of the Federation of Education Unions
She cites the example of computer equipment for distance school and CO readers.2 promised by Quebec, which did not arrive on the scheduled dates. As for the N95 masks, the staff who work with students in specialized schools do not even have access to them, she recalls.
AMDES believes this could be a prerequisite for returning to schools. “We offered it to staff in Ontario: why not in Quebec? », Asks its president, Kathleen Legault.
Families should also have access to rapid test kits, she suggests.
The spokesperson for the Regroupement des committees de parents autonomes du Québec, which represents the regions of Montreal and Laval in particular, said that he would like to know “that people are not improvising, that we are has a plan ”. In this context, Sylvain Martel believes that the Minister of Education, Jean-François Roberge, “misses the opportunity to show that he is in charge”.
Asked about N95 masks, rapid tests and air purifiers in schools, the office of the Minister of Education indicated that a press briefing scheduled for Wednesday would answer these questions. Mr. Roberge will be accompanied by the National Director of Public Health, Dr.r Horacio Arruda.