It was a lousy school year for Canada?s elementary and high school students, as well as its teachers. As COVID waves crested and fell, schools opened and shut, then opened and shut again. Ontario?s nearly two million elementary and high school students received the least amount of in-person learning of students across the country: Most got just five months under their belts.
And for some, that may be the sum of their school year. ?I have some kids that haven?t shown up in my virtual classes at all,? says Parmeet Singh, an elementary school teacher in Brampton, Ont., which has consistently been one of the country?s infection hotspots.
Focussing on improving the situation in hard-hit places like Brampton would help get all of Canada?s kids back in class in September, for good. And while the country?s vaccination program is going well and will do much of the heavy lifting for us, it can?t do all of it. While there?s no crystal ball when it comes to the pandemic, there is a rearview mirror. If ending (and mending) the disruption to education is actually important to us, we?ll do what wasn?t done last year: Invest in smaller class sizes and improved ventilation, changes that over the long term pay out in more than just infection control.
Here, experts and educators share their thoughts on safe schools in the age of COVID-19.
Were schools safe last year"
University of Ottawa epidemiologist Raywat Deonandan doesn?t think ?safe? has ever been defined clearly when it comes to s...