Thousands of students across Chatham-Kent will be heading back to the classroom for the first time today since before Christmas.
Students in both elementary and secondary school have been restricted to virtual learning since the start of 2021 to help prevent any post-holiday spread of COVID-19.
Last week, Ontario’s Education Minister announced all regions would be able to resume in-person learning, with the exception of COVID hotspots of Toronto, York, and Peel Regions, who will head back to their respective classrooms next Tuesday.
But with the provincial lockdown still in effect, Director of Education for the Lambton Kent District School Board John Howitt says things will be a little different, especially for the younger grades.
“Masking has been expanded from grade four down to include grades one, two and three,” Howitt explains. “The masking has also been expanded to buses, and finally masking has been extended to outdoors when two metres (distance) cannot be maintained between students.”
Director of Education for the St Clair Catholic District School Board Deb Crawford says there will be increased safety protocols in place.
“There’s a requirement now for the school boards to have not only people to confirm that they have self-screened,” Crawford says. “For staff, which we were doing, and now for secondary students, they’re going to have to confirm when they get to school they have self-screened using the provincial screening tool, and there’s processes being put in place in our school to make sure that does happen.”
There has been talk of increased testing for students and staff, but Chatham-Kent’s Chief Medical Officer says nothing’s been decided at this point.
Meantime, just after announcing the reopening of schools last week, Education Minister Stephen Lecce also announced he was considering scrapping March Break.
Lecce admitted he thinks it’s a way to curb the spread of COVID-19, especially with the arrival of the new variants, but he says any decision would be based on the best advice of Ontario health leaders.
Without missing a beat, the leaders of unions representing teachers went on the offensive, pointing out the importance of mental health and warning of a mass burnout effect if teachers and students don’t get a break.
A final announcement is expected sometime this week.