(File photo/CJME News Staff)

By Glenn Hicks

No-shows

Early absenteeism in P.A. schools a concern: administrator

Sep 9, 2020 | 4:50 PM

It is still very early days in the new school year but a Prince Albert administrator says what appears to be an unusually high rate of absenteeism is a concern.

paNOW has heard of very low attendances in certain classes, even with the staggered restart and moves by some families towards K to 12 distance learning or home schooling, amid concerns around the COVID-19 pandemic.

Director of education with the Saskatchewan Rivers Public School Division Robert Bratvold would not give specific schools or numbers, and is always reluctant to talk about enrolment at the beginning of the new school year, but he said the variability of attendance was higher than usual. He said unexpectedly low attendance was observed across various locations in the city and it is something they’re looking into with families.

“The majority of children we expect to be in school and it’s a concerning thing when [families] are choosing just not to send their children to school,” he said. “That’s surprising and a little bit of a concern too.”

Bratvold said they hadn’t made any assumptions about the reasons behind the absence but figured a slow return after a long weekend, especially for children with connections to the North, might be one factor, as it often is.

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However, he added COVID-19 concerns could also be playing a role and he wanted to reassure families of the measures and protocols that are in place.

“Schools are well prepared and very able to care for kids’ mental and physical health needs, and their learning too,” he explained. “We’re certainly going to be doing some more rigorous outreach to families to make sure they know ‘hey we’re ready, school’s going, and we want you back in class.’”

Bratvold also stressed there are protocols in place should any child become ill.

“If kids become sick at school we are going to contact the families immediately and ask them to pick them up, take them home and take care for them, as we would anytime they’re sick at school,” he said.

Meanwhile, the P.A.Catholic School Division said there were no surprises in terms of attendance so far. Director of education Lorel Trumier said any unexplained absenteeism was being followed up as normal.

“It’s part of our process to ensure our children are safe and so we’re reaching out to those families right away and saying ‘okay, we thought we had you registered, is that still the case?’ Sometimes I think families are just unsure whether to send their children to school if they’re not feeling well and getting back into the routine of contacting the school if they’re not well.”

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glenn.hicks@jpbg.ca

On Twitter:@princealbertnow