Students, parents, educators fraying nerves over back-to-school safety

Paige Wallace may be sitting in a classroom next week to continue her Grade 11 year, but she isn't sure it's the best option.

"I feel like there's going to be a lot of outbreaks and we're just going to get sent home, but I do think they're going to send us back," she said.

The 16-year-old at Cathedral High School in Hamilton said she and her friends would feel more comfortable staying home for a while longer before going back to avoid getting COVID-19.

"We don't want to get COVID. As much as we want a normal life and a normal high school experience, we're willing to sacrifice another month if that means keeping everyone safe and healthy," she said.

It won't be a month-long delay, as the province announced on Thursday students will return to in-person learning on Jan. 5, two days later than originally planned. It also said it would give staff N95 masks, will provide 3,000 more HEPA filters to schools and, for now, will only allow low-contact indoor sports and some extra-curricular activities.

An in-person return was far from certain over the holidays. Before the winter break, Hamilton school boards asked students to bring the belongings home just in case, but said they were planning to return to classrooms.

Then the Omicron variant took over. It's spreading so fast, public health units have warned daily case counts are vastly underreported due to a lag in testing.

This week, there was growing restlessness about whether the province would revert back to remote learning instead of welcoming students into classrooms.

Mixed opinions about returning to school

The province has previously made education announcements at the 11th hour, leaving school boards, educators, families and students in a scramble.

Other provinces like British Columbia and Nova Scotia are pushing reopening back by a few days, while schools in Newfoundland and Labrador are going virtual.

Before Ontario announced the delayed start and new safety measures, Ontario Liberal leader Steven Del Duca and Ontario NDP leader Andrea Horwath both said the province needed to improve safety, calling for implement vaccine mandates for students, shrink class sizes, boost access to rapid tests and masks and improve ventilation. Horwath also mentioned including more paid sick days for families during a virtual press conference Thursday morning. 

Local public health has said repeatedly keeping schools open is among its top priorities, pointing to the devastating impacts remote learning has on student learning and wellbeing. McMaster Children's Hospital has also pushed to keep schools open.

Wallace said at least one of her friends had suicidal thoughts while schools were shut down. She thinks remote learning would harm some for sure, but also thinks the harm can be minimized if the province has a clear plan and sticks to it.

"I feel like what hurt a lot of people last year was the constant staying in school, going back, a couple more weeks, a couple more months, just us totally not knowing what's going on," she said.

"It was the constant anxiety of 'what's going to happen next' that was hurting us all."

She added school boards and the province should do more to address student mental health by hosting an online panel where students share their experiences can address their needs more so than a pamphlet.

Kris Miha has a son in Grade 7 at Hamilton's Catholic school board. Miha won't let him back in school for at least two weeks in January.

"There was an outbreak in my son's school and there was no contact tracing by public health, it was all done by the principal," she said. "Online learning also sucks but for a little while, it's the best option so far."

Hamilton public school board trustee Paul Tut said educators are also concerned, trying to balance protecting students' education and their own safety.

"They're deeply concerned they're being left out there to deal with this."

Some experts like infection control epidemiologist Colin Furness have said schools don't have enough safeguards in place to safely open.

Earlier this week, he said schools need to mandate vaccines for students and staff, a huge supply of rapid tests, N95 masks for all teachers, HEPA air filters in all classes and spaces where people gather — too much to get done in a few days, he argues.

"It's not possible," he said.

If you need mental health help

Canada Suicide Prevention Service
Toll-free 1-833-456-4566
Text: 45645
Chat: crisisservicescanada.ca 

In French: Association québécoise de prévention du suicide: 1-866-APPELLE (1-866-277-3553)

Kids Help Phone: Phone: 1-800-668-6868 
Text: TALK to 686868 (English) or TEXTO to 686868 (French)
Live Chat counselling at www.kidshelpphone.ca

Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention: Find a 24-hour crisis centre