Local education officials are hoping newly revised COVID-19 screening guidelines will help keep more kids in class.
While she doesn’t have exact numbers, Deb Crawford, Director of Education for the St Clair Catholic District School Board is concerned about the number of students who’ve been missing school so early in the year.
“Parents have been very concerned as well and have expressed this, as have our teachers,” Crawford says. “We’re hoping that the new screening tool will help us to deal with some of the sniffles, I think runny noses is one of the biggest problems across our area, oftentimes due to a cold or due to pre-existing (issues) such as an allergy.”
Meantime Lambton Kent Director of Education John Howitt is thanking parents for their vigilance so far this school year.
He says the health and safety of students and teachers remains their number one priority.
“The screening tool is in place as a first line of defence of ensuring we do our best to keep COVID out of our schools, which then helps to ensure it doesn’t spread,” Howitt says. “We’re absolutely concerned about the absences, a greater concern is a positive case coming into school that could have been avoided if, through the screening tool, the student hadn’t come to school in the first place.”
For the newly revised online screening tool – click here.
