(file photo)

By Glenn Hicks

covid-19

P.A. schools prepared but no plans to close at this stage

Nov 25, 2020 | 8:00 AM

Although there have been several individual COVID cases across Prince Albert and area schools, resulting in many children having to stay home for various lengths of time, there are no immediate plans to close any of them. And, if district-wide online instruction does become necessary again, things would be different for students compared to how it was in the spring.

Those are some of the thoughts from P.A.’s most senior school administrators amid increasing incidents of the virus’ transmission in the region in recent weeks.

No plans to close

“Individual or sometimes multiple classrooms have had to self-isolate… but we’re not at the position where we’re looking at going to Level 4 – which is remote learning for everybody. We’re not there yet,” director of education for the Saskatchewan Rivers Public School Division Robert Bratvold, told paNOW.

He added there were no threshold numbers of any kind for a move to Level 4, despite efforts to seek clarification from Public Health, because it was explained each community and school and case load is different. Any such moves would be a joint decision with health and school division personnel.

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When asked what is different now compared to March, Bratvold said public health and school officials know more about transmission prevention and everyone has had experience with all the practices that have been put in place. There has been no evidence of in-school transmission across the region, and Bratvold said teachers and families were doing an excellent job in doing the right things to prevent the virus’ spread in schools.

Would smaller classes help?

The Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation has called for smaller classrooms as part of proposed measures to make things safer. While he said he supported any refinements to make things better, Bratvold wasn’t sure about class sizes as a way to combat the virus.

“I don’t know that necessarily smaller classrooms would be the answer,” he said. “Every weekday [in the province] we have 180,000 students and 40 or 50,000 staff all gathered together in schools… and prevention of the transmission in most of those circumstances. I think that’s a good indication our protocols work.”

Meanwhile, the director of education for the Prince Albert Catholic School Division Lorel Trumier said the question of smaller classrooms would be a good one for epidemiologists looking into the pandemic but “small classrooms are always a great place for children to be just because they have more personal attention.”

Being prepared but it’s different this time

While Trumier couldn’t say if it may yet become necessary to close the division’s schools, she noted any move to division-wide online and distance learning would not be supplemental and optional as it was when all schools in Saskatchewan closed in March.

“We would have to move to Level 4 and it would mean that all students would have to participate in the learning through that process,” Trumier said. “I believe families need to be ready for what potentially could happen, we’ve been setting up systems… to make sure if we do have to go home – even if it means for a shorter or longer time – there is a process in place.”

Trumier said students had accommodated the move to safety protocols very well in making it part of their routine and teachers had been exceptional in modelling what needs to get done. She remains hopeful schools can stay open for the coming weeks and beyond.

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glenn.hicks@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @princealbertnow