THUNDER BAY - With 350 high school students with the Lakehead Public School Board opting to learn at home this year, what affect that will have on class sizes in the classroom is yet to be seen, and the Ontario Secondary Teachers Federation is still expressing concerns for the safety of staff and students.
“I’m not sure if that is going to have enough of an impact to reduce class sizes significantly, but it will help. But it remains to be seen how that will play out in the classroom itself,” said Rich Seeley, president of Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation District 6A Thunder Bay.
Approximately 85 per cent of secondary students in three high schools with the Lakehead board have opted for in-class learning, leaving 350 of 2,550 registered students learning at home.
Seeley said if it is spread out evenly across all grades, it could allow for more physical distancing in classrooms, but he said the board being classified as non-designated, meaning school will resume with normal class sizes, still makes no sense.
“I’ve stated form the beginning that it’s going to be a problem,” Seeley said. “A classroom in Westgate High School in Thunder Bay is the same size as a classroom in Toronto, or London, or Ottawa and they are going to have 15 kids and we are going to have 25 to 30. There’s no sense to that decision by the government.”
Last week, the ministry of education announced school boards can unlock reserve funds to enhance physical distancing measures in the classroom.
According to Seeley, after discussions with Lakehead school board officials, the focus right now will be on elementary grades.
“They are going to be looking at the large elementary classes first, because there are not going to be masks in those classes, so that will be a priority,” he said. “So I’m not sure how that will work out in secondary. She wasn’t able to indicate any secondary hiring that is going to alleviate our class sizes at this point anyway.”
In the public board, 14 secondary teachers have also opted to not return to the classroom, due to health concerns relating to COVID-19. Additional teachers may need to be reassigned to fill the need for teachers offering at-home learning, which will look very different from what took place in the spring when schools first shutdown.
“This time around there is much higher expectations on both students and teachers,” Seeley said. “Now if you are online, this is what school is. You’re going to have to work for your mark and teachers will be providing a much more fulsome experience. There is going to be higher expectations on everybody.”
According to Seeley, the Lakehead board has indicated there will be a slightly staggered start to the school year, with students returning after Labour Day and the teachers the week before.
“I have some confidence that with a slightly staggered start, that I’m understanding we are going to have now, it will give a bit more breathing room for the board to put some plans in place to ensure student safety and staff safety,” he said.
Teachers unions and the provincial government have been at odds over the back to school plan and Seeley said its due in large part to the fact that the provincial government has chosen to remain ideological.
“When the pandemic began in March, our leadership in Toronto reached out to the government to offer advice. We have constantly been reaching out since then and we get the same answer: Thanks, we’ll get back to you,” Seeley said.
“They have no consulted with teachers unions at all. They say we are blocking the path to finding a safe solution, they simply haven’t talked to us. They haven’t talked to us. We find it insulting that the premier and minister of education are implying teachers unions are standing in the way of a successful reopening.”
