As school year ends, educators already thinking about what next year will bring
With the end of the current school year just days away, educators in the Sudbury area are urging the Ford government to start planning for a safe return to in-person learning in September.
“Our hands are completely tied,” said Chantal Rancourt, with the Sudbury chapter of the Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association. “We’ve had the conversations we need to have at the school board level. The school boards had the conversations they have to have. But until we know what’s in place from the government, you can’t move forward with anything.”
Rancourt said both boards have already said the province's official plans won't be released until August.
"That doesn’t leave boards with a lot of time to prepare, depending on what is in that official plan," she said. "So I’d like to feel hopeful, but I’m cautiously optimistic perhaps.”
Officials said across the board, the goal for the upcoming school year is the same.
“It is the hope of every teacher that I talk to, to get back to in-person learning,” said Liana Holm, with the Sudbury chapter of the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario.
“We have to keep that focus on the health of students, on the health of teachers, on the health of our communities, rather than doing things like invoking a notwithstanding clause that takes away from the focus of what’s really good for the people where we live.”
Officials said the priority needs to be making classrooms safe over the summer with ventilation, social distancing and vaccines being a common theme.
“The more ventilation that you have in a school, the way better off everybody is going to be," said Holm. "If it takes the virus out of the room instead of letting it linger in the room, if they’re airborne, that is something that can only benefit everybody going forward.”
Officials said that money is also going to be essential to getting everyone back to some type of normal.
“We need some staffing for people to work on students who have learning gaps, special education students, vulnerable students who have high needs, the gap might be even wider than a regular school year and I believe we need some extra supports and mental health supports for students,” said Rancourt.
She said the time to start planning for September is now.
“I believe it’s unfortunate that we haven’t used this last year to start working on that," said Rancourt.
"I know sometimes when the government announces a lot of money for ventilation, that’s not something that can be done overnight. But let's use the summer, work with school boards, provide the funding for them to actually do the work on their ventilation systems. I believe that can be done during the summer -- or at least a big portion."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'I just can't believe that it took so long': Body found in wreckage 3 months after deadly fire
A man accused of arson in a January Old Strathcona apartment fire is expected to be charged with manslaughter after a body was discovered in the burned building late last month.
No proof man lied to brother about number of kittens born in litter, B.C. tribunal rules
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
Quebec police hand out hundreds of tickets to Hells Angels and other bikers before 'first run' meeting
Quebec provincial police handed out hundreds of fines to Hells Angels members and other supporting motorcycle clubs who met for their 'first run' in a small town near Sherbrooke, Que.
Feds hope to table foreign interference legislation next week: LeBlanc
Democratic Institutions Minister Dominic LeBlanc says he plans to table legislation this week to help the federal government address foreign interference, but he wouldn't say whether the proposal will include a foreign agent registry.
Auston Matthews skates ahead of Game 7, status unclear with season on the line
Centre Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs hasn't been ruled out of tonight's Game 7 against the Boston Bruins.
Snakes almost on a plane: U.S. TSA discovers a bag with small snakes in passenger's pants
According to an X post by the Transportation Security Administration, officers at the Miami International Airport found the small bag of snakes hidden in a passenger's trousers on April 26 at a checkpoint.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
Russia puts Ukrainian President Zelenskyy on its wanted list
Russia has put Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on its wanted list, Russian state media reported Saturday, citing the interior ministry’s database.
Grandparents killed in wrong-way crash on Hwy. 401 identified
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.