Prince George District Teachers Association President Joanne Hapke believes a complete return to classes in September is realistic.
Hapke admitted while the majority of students are back in the classroom now, there are some who elected to learn from home this year due to the pandemic.
Hapke told MyPGNow.com students learning from home has added to the stress and anxiety for teachers.
“Especially teachers who are work with transitioning students. That workload has made it really hard for teachers to feel confident in the work that they are sending home to the students, is it enough and are they understanding what is happening when they are not in-person learning.”
“The hours they are spending on this are extreme as well. I really believe if we can get all students back in our classrooms that would be a good thing.”
She is of the opinion once enough people get vaccinated over the next several months, the confidence from all parents to put their children back in the classroom should quickly follow.
“Once we are able to be vaccinated as a school population then I believe that will relieve a lot of the anxiety the teachers are feeling but also potentially parents that they will also feel more confident in sending their kids back, even though their children won’t be vaccinated, the adults in the building will be.”
Hapke stated the “quarter system” where students take two in-class courses over 10 weeks has proven to be an inadequate replacement for the semester system.
“We are finding that this is just not supporting students in their learning. So, teachers know and parents are finding out that if you are in a difficult class like Math 10 you need that extra time to absorb concepts and work through the processing of the subject area and you condense it into half the time? Students are struggling.”
School District 57 Board Chair Trent Derrick shares the same sentiments as Hapke stating the school board is “cautiously optimistic” for a full return this fall.
In addition, Derrick is of the opinion the large area SD 57 covers has presented some unique challenges – especially at its smaller schools.
“We’re so vastly different in terms of many of our schools. Adapting our plans to fit a large school then a small school while making sure we have all the supports in place that’s the same challenge when we have other issues as well.”
The district has been no stranger to potential COVID-19 exposure events at its facilities in what has been a hectic academic year, to say the least.
Despite this, Derrick believes SD 57 has responded accordingly when a school is listed by Northern Health.
“We’ve followed and continue to follow the advice of our public health officer and the local health authority. When we come to all of our protocols and safety plans in place we have done a good job.”
Meanwhile, Anne Kang, Minister of Advanced Education and Skills Training, has issued the following statement regarding post-secondary education in fall 2021:
“Today, Dr. Bonnie Henry, provincial health officer, advised the presidents of all public colleges and universities to prepare for a full return to on-campus education this September.”
The Ministry of Education submitted the following points to MyPGNow.com:
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- School is the best place for students to learn, and for their social and emotional wellbeing – keeping schools open and safe is a priority for our province.
- Since day one of the pandemic, our Government has made decisions based on science and we will continue to follow the advice of public health officials as we navigate the pandemic.
- As we look to the future, we know September is also very much on all of our minds.
- Our goal continues to have as many students learning in-class as possible. While much depends on the vaccination rollout, we are optimistic we can start September in Stage 1 – with a full return to in-class instruction.
- We’ll be continuing our discussions with our education partners and rightsholders on the provincial steering committee. These discussions, along with direction from provincial health, will inform how we continue to ensure the health and safety of students and staff in our schools this year and into next year.
