GUELPH – Parents and guardians of Upper Grand District School Board (UGDSB) students are asking the board to improve distancing in schools and on buses and to provide better communication regarding COVID-19.
At the Sept. 29 UGDSB meeting, Dr. Andria Jones-Bitton, an epidemiologist and veterinarian, spoke to trustees on behalf of her family and the group Ontario Safe.
“This group is made up of concerned parents, education workers, and community members,” she said.
“Ontario Safe has been calling on the provincial government to reduce class sizes.”
The best pandemic school reopening and operation strategies, she said, require a “comprehensive bundle” of COVID-19 mitigation measures.
For the board this would include physical distancing, wearing masks, good hand hygiene and contact tracing in schools and on buses.
“These elimination strategies can reduce the overall spread of COVID-19 and by extension keep COVID-19 out of schools,” Jones-Bitton said.
“While difficult and imperfect, keeping COVID-19 out of schools is our most effective line of defence.”
She also said environmental cleaning, optimizing ventilation, expanding outdoor learning and reducing class sizes should be implemented in the schools.
In order to maintain at least two metres of distance between all students and staff, Jones-Bitton said it’s necessary to “dramatically” reduce the number of students per class.
She said she had heard of classes that only had 50cm between student desks until a guardian called the school board to make an official complaint.
“We are asking the board to petition the province for the funds necessary to reduce bus occupancy and class sizes so that optimal two metre physical distancing can be achieved on buses and in classrooms,” Jones-Bitton said.
“We are asking the board to … reduce bus occupancy and class sizes while awaiting further leadership from the province.”
Director of education Martha Rogers said the board has petitioned the province for funds necessary to reduce class sizes and bus occupancies.
She also explained the board is hiring 165 long-term occasional teachers to help create more classes.
However, there is a teacher shortage throughout the province.
“We’re doing our best at the moment to get a teacher in front of every class that we currently have,” Rogers said.
“So we are taking very active steps and we are continuing to hire teachers and trying to attract them.“
Rogers said she’s seen other school boards advertising for unqualified teachers just so there is an adult in front of classes.
She also said additional space was an issue in schools because most are heavily utilized and while there are opportunities to use community spaces, the board does not have the teacher capacity to offer more classes.
“And there’s also cleaning and disinfectant issues,” Rogers said.
“So even if we had all the money in the world – and I’m not saying we do, we don’t – it’s difficult to resolve this issue easily on a practical level as long as every student goes to school every day, which is currently the model in the elementary schools.”
She said if elementary students went to school in cohorts and spent half their time learning online at home, the issue would be solved and there would be enough space.
However, that model is not approved for elementary schools, and parents would need to find childcare when their child isn’t in school.
Jones-Bitton was also skeptical of physical distancing on buses.
“I have learned that the average number of students on [UGDSB] buses is 34 and I have heard that children from multiple schools are on the same buses, minimizing the benefits of so-called cohorts,” she said.
“An average occupancy of 34 does not allow for any meaningful distancing.”
She added, “Bus occupancy would need to be reduced by eight in order to achieve two metres of physical distancing.”
Rogers confirmed that on average the number of students on a bus is 34, even though the board is aiming to only have one student per seat.
“We’re letting a student be a second student in the seat if the student is either a sibling, so they live in the same household, or is in the same classroom because they’re in the classroom bubble,” Rogers said.
She confirmed all 500 bus routes are staffed and all students who need a bus have access to transportation every day.
In other boards students are receiving buses every other day to allow for physical distancing.
However, there is also a bus and driver shortage this year throughout the province.
“Many people who drive a school bus are doing it as a retired person, either for interest or for a little bit of extra income, and they have been reticent to pick up bus driving at the time of COVID because seniors are considered more at risk than 20 year olds,” Rogers said.
In addition to the tangible changes Jones-Bitton requested regarding class size and bus occupancy, she asked for streamlined and standardized communication with parents.
“The quality of information that has been shared with guardians varies by school and within classes,” she said.
“The current exclusion of parents and guardians from schools makes clear communication more important than ever.
“All guardians should be aware of the number of people on buses and in classrooms, and the distance in between individuals.”
Jones-Bitton added classroom configurations, snack and meal plans, and outdoor curriculum plans should be universally provided.
“This too should be distributed and promoted widely across multiple platforms and made available in different languages to accommodate guardians whose first language may not be English,” she said.
Superintendent of education Gary Slater said he would bring up Jones-Bitton’s concerns at a principal meeting.
“We’ll do that in an effort to gain some greater consistency with the messaging and we will do our best to share effective best practices when communicating this kind of information with our families,” Slater said.
“I absolutely acknowledge that there’s a difference between schools and even within schools in classes with respect to some of the issues that you brought up.”
He added, “So while schools have tried very hard to optimize the distancing and to establish routines and all the things that go along with COVID, we certainly want to make sure that we are representing that fairly and consistently across our schools.”
Another complaint Jones-Britton has is that some teachers didn’t open classroom windows until a student asked.
Rogers said, “There’s no excuse for that and I’m not going to comment other than we’ll take it to heart and make sure that the principals and vice-principals talk to their staff so we don’t have to have children having to ask to open a window.
“That’s a terrible situation.”
Director of operations Paul Scinocca said all schools have operating windows on outside walls. The board is also looking at ventilation systems this year, starting with the oldest schools, he added.
“We will continue to take very seriously the things which are in the delegation’s notes, which were very thorough, very comprehensive, and do our level best to be as responsive to parents,” Rogers said.
“I commit to you we will do our very best.”
