(File photo/paNOW)

By Glenn Hicks

covid-19

STF wants two-week online buffer; SRPSD has no plans to do so

Mar 31, 2021 | 5:58 PM

The Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation (STF) is calling on the government to have students move to online learning for a two-week period following the upcoming Easter Break. However, a local director of education says there are no plans to do that.

The STF said cases of COVID-19 are now more widespread across many communities and wants the move to Level 4 (online) learning because some families will be travelling or having gatherings.

“This two-week period will serve as a buffer to help protect students, teachers and ultimately our communities in the event people travel or gather over the break,” STF president Patrick Maze said in a media release Wednesday. The STF wants the transition to online, mandatory learning to run from Monday, April 12 through Friday, April 23.

They cited health officials saying variants are up to 70 percent more transmissible and 40 percent of youth are asymptomatic.

“Communities across Saskatchewan are interconnected. We have an opportunity to act before more communities experience what Regina and Moose Jaw are dealing with,” Maze said, in part.

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However, Robert Bratvold, the director of education for the Saskatchewan Rivers Public School Division, said they were following the guidance of the Ministry of Health in taking the advice of the local medical health officer who they met this week. At this stage there are no plans to have students stay at home to learn.

“Schools are the second highest in terms of the numbers of [COVID] investigations, and the lowest by far of investigations that result in a case,” Bratvold told paNOW. “So, that says schools are being impacted because of the presence of COVID in the community, but doing fantastic work to keep it out of the school transmission itself.”

Bratvold said the school division was well aware of the potential for increased transmission with the new variants, but he was not surprised by the relatively small number of COVID cases in local schools. He attributed that confidence to the work of teachers and staff “who are doing amazing things and have great protocols in place.”

The Prince Albert Catholic School Division was not immediately available for comment.

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glenn.hicks@jpbg.ca

Twitter: @princealbertnow