Sudbury parents prepare for a return to the classroom

Sudbury -

It’s not quite time for the school bell to ring yet, but parents across the region are already making the big decision – will it be back to the classroom or another year of virtual learning?

"In-person…yeah… she’s too little to continue online so she’s going to school," said Marcela Jarva, whose daughter will be attending Ecole publique Foyer-Jeunesse.

"She gets distracted all the time and she wants to do other stuff rather than sit in there and pay attention to her classes."

As of Tuesday, there are 21 active COVID-19 cases in the Public Health Sudbury and Districts' region. However, parents say with the help of their kids, the decision was made to return to in-person learning.

"She was the primary decision-maker and we fully supported her decision," said Nicole Gaspardo, whose daughter will be heading to Espanola High School this September. "Her biggest thing was she likes the social interaction and she has a very hard time with online – she did not like the virtual at all."

The first day of class is set for Sept. 7, meaning no matter the age or school, parents across the region had to make a decision when it came to their child’s education.

For the Rainbow District School Board, the deadline to make a decision was Monday at noon.

Although the COVID-19 situation is constantly changing, the website states: "there will be one opportunity to transition between remote and in-person learning in February 2022," meaning the decisions made in August are pretty concrete.

"'Pivoting,' as they called it, halfway through a year is difficult on students, it’s difficult on teachers and it’s difficult on parents," said Liana Holm, the Sudbury president for the Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario. "I know the board is trying to narrow that down to create less disruption in the system. The less disruption and the more normal we can keep things the better off that is for everybody, especially from a mental health point of view."

Several safety protocols have been put in place across the province to help keep staff and students safe as they return to school, including mask-wearing, enhanced sanitization, signage, and working closely with public health units.

Parents that spoke to CTV News said these measures are helping to give some reassurance about sending their children back to school in person.

"She will wear a mask whenever it is required," Jarva said. "I know from before Grade 1 they’re not required to, but if teachers or the school says she has to wear a mask, then she will wear it.”

Gaspardo adds, "I definitely think that they’re doing the best they can with all the hurdles they have to jump through and I think the communication has been the best that they can."

Although as it stands right now, students can’t switch back and forth between in-person and virtual freely, officials say plans will change depending on the COVID-19 situation.

"We’re going to be monitoring on a day-to-day, case-by-case basis," Holm said. "I mean, we could find ourselves back where we were in the spring. That’s still not off the table as far as the numbers, you know, that we see right now. But again, that’s a situation that’s going to have to be monitored closely."

Adding, "I hope that people understand that teachers want to be back in the classroom. It’s absolutely something that they want. They want to be with their kids because they become part of their families. And, you know, we’re all hoping for that, but just with a little bit of caution."